I think this will be a first in new who where the lead actor has said anything about having discussions to continue before it has been decided at all. That is what is so strange about it, and the main reason why some of us are a little suspicious of the whole thing.

To be honest, I think some people are looking into it a little too much. Capaldi generally engages with the fans more over his role in the show than his last few predeccessors did, and likes to give us a glimpse into what the role entails for him, his memories of the show, what's going on between series, etc. I may be wrong but I don't recall Tennant or Smith being so talkative about it.

this

Im betting someone had a chat with him about spilling he might do series 11, On the next radio show after, he was asked again and said, "I will play doctor who as long as its right"

He often gets in trouble with BBC publicists becasue he gives to much away,

My own take on it, make of it what you will, is that PC has been rather more open about his role on the show than his more recent predecessors. He's talked before about his fear of the Hartnell chat, and that someone high up told that this next series might be his last and of disagreements that he's had with Moffat about the direction of his character. I don't think we would have heard similar things from either Tennant or Smith.

It's this openness and honesty and straight up talking attitude that has me puzzled as to why some people seem to think that he's suddenly being deceitful.

PC was asked the question, and he answered it as openly as he could. How would you have answered the question?

I think he certainly gives us a more realistic idea of what it's like to play the Doctor than Tennant or Smith did. It's very interesting to hear what he has to say, to be honest, as we don't usually get to put ourselves in the shoes of the Doctor Who lead.

Well if it is true that he has been asked and is deciding, then they are never usually allowed to talk about that sort of thing, so previously with this sort of thing you'd just expect a 'you'll have to wait and see' with a smile from the current doctor. Capaldi is a professional actor and surely knows the game of not revealing information before time. That again, is why I am so puzzled as to why he would be allowed to say such a thing if it were true, whereas if it were a false PR ploy then that would be the reason.

As I've said previously, even if it is true and he genuinely is deciding and does stay for series 11, then I'll still wonder why, on this occasion, and this one occasion alone, the bbc allowed Capaldi to talk about deals being offered behind the scenes when they never usually do, until at least after the fact when a decision is confirmed.

Perhaps the BBC have learned a little from past mistakes? You never know....

I just think your paranoia here is rather overdone and these remarks are actually about negotiating positions, rather than covering up "till the time is right" a decision that's already been made.

Fundamentally, I don't believe PC would say he'd "been asked" and "was considering" if it was untrue. To suggest it could be an outright lie is an attack on his character,

Another option is that "being asked" could mean anything from filming only a regeneration scene through to staying on for a full season and beyond. So, it could be a Moffat-ism, i.e. playing with words to mislead, rather than an outright lie. I actually think that's highly unlikely too.

This....

They tried to get Tony Blackburn to "resign" in the last fortnight!


Also, being asked to stay and being made an attractive offer are two very different things. An actor can essentially be told to take an insultingly low offer or leave. But he would still technically have been asked to stay.

Fair point.

As I said way back in this thread, what we've been told so far (and assuming that it's not outright lies) is subject to two interpretations:

They want him to stay as cheaply as possible.
They want him to leave and have "low-balled" him.

To me, that leaves the ball firmly in Chris Chibnall's court, because wanting him to stay or leave is his decision, not a corporate "suit"'s decision. "Suits" only interfere in otherwise strictly creative decisions when it affects costs. And the choice of star does have cost implications. One reason for picking an unknown actor is that they'd normally be cheaper than an established actor. As showrunner Chris Chibnall will have to curb his creative impulses to fit within the budget he's got. If PC stays and if he is expensive that will be less money for the rest of the production than if they'd hired a cheaper actor.

CC will have to fight the "suits" to win the biggest budget he can get anyway.

As both Tennant and Smith were at the beginning of their careers when they landed the role and became significantly more well known during their time I would have thought they would be a bit cheaper to start with but wanted more money as time went on and if what others say is true and three years if the earliest point that actors can negotiate contracts then that would probably impact their decisions to leave. Capaldi on the other hand already had a high profile before he joined the show and is a different stage of his career so any negotiations over pay may not be quite as steep

Yes, typically "talent" costs go up after a few years when contract re-negotiation time comes around. Increased talent costs is one reason why many shows only last for a few seasons in the US.

It's another facet of the brilliance of the regeneration concept. They can refresh the show and keep its costs low at the same time!

If they dont want to renew, why bother to make an offer at all?

It puts the actor in a position where they can't say "I was axed!"

Seeing as a lot of the anti-TV Licence guys think BBC staff should get a nominal public sector wage, an actor saying "I was only offered £150,000 per year" would sound churlish to many.

It makes for better publicity for the show than "sacking" the actor. The show didn't sack him, therefore the actor can't (easily) kick up a fuss and say he/she was axed, and the actor can safely say (without lying or fear of being contradicted) that it was his/her choice to leave.

Thus face is saved all round. Succession managed. Careers and the show move on.

I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Capaldi might go with Moffat. I still think it's likely he will than stay with Chibnall.

This theory actually makes more sense to me than the one where Capaldi boldface lies to participate in a "cover up",

I have no doubt he was made an offer, but what the offer he was made is the question... we will see.

He said yesterday he will be the doctor as long as it is "Right".

Whatever the offer is, we can safely say it didn't get Capaldi "biting their hand off" immediately.

Both options still seem possible as of right now, but on balance, I do think it's more likely that he'll leave with SM rather than stay for CC.

Unfortunately.

It feels like we've only just got to know PC's version of the Doctor.

A new actor will be cheaper. It gives SM an opportunity for a great climax to his tenure by writing the regeneration story of another Doctor. And CC gets a fresh start, with all the benefits that will bring coming from the extra publicity for the show.

The only counter argument I've seen which makes any sense (apart from the affection of the fans for PC) is the extra strain and risk involved in more or less starting from scratch again, which is something SM has talked about. Maybe he regrets not being able to persuade DT to stay for his first year as showrunner.

I think the actual decision is Chris Chibnall's though.

That kind of thing seems to make sense. It also means that Capaldi wouldn't need to officially lie about whether they sacked him in itself, if they didn't actually say the words, but still if true would suggest an element of untruth about him currently 'deciding', because if such a thing were the case that they had indeed 'low balled' so to speak as a way of getting him effectively getting him to leave without actually saying the words then he'd know straight away he wasn't going to take the 'offer'.

While we're talking of Capaldi making statements that are distinctly off message, we have this gem now too:

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-...-frustrate-me/

No offence to either Tennant or Smith but I cannot imagine either of them coming out with something like this while they were still in the role, which makes it all the more difficult for me to think that Capaldi would go along with a PR cover up with regards his future role in the show.

It's good to see that he agrees with a lot of people here that overnights are no longer the be-all and end-all as far as ratings are concerned.

Smart man....and very open and honest lol

He also said earlier that Steven Moffat will be remembered as one of Doctor Who's greatest writers... he's obviously looking to wind up the internet as well as the BBC.

Well it's nice to have a hobby and I guess he has time on his hands at the moment