Steven Moffat has teased big changes in Doctor Who's eighth series.
The show's head writer spoke about Peter Capaldi's casting at Hay Festival, saying that the new Doctor will bring about the show's biggest changes since 2005.
He said: "We haven't made much of change to Doctor Who since it came back in 2005. It's been the same show. It's maybe amped some things up and lowered some other things, but it's basically the same.
"I just felt it needs to be a bit more different now. It's needs to be surprising again!" he said of his decision to cast an older actor.
Moffat also said that casting a "handsome, yet quirky, young man with entertaining hair" would have resulted in the long-running sci-fi series becoming too formulaic.
"It would have just exposed the formula," he claimed. "We'd have found somebody great and people would have liked him, but the show would have just become that little bit more ordinary."
Capaldi, 56, replaced Matt Smith as The Doctor in the final scene of last year's Christmas special.
Last week, a teaser trailer for the new series was released, confirming that Capaldi's first full series in the role will begin in August.
The show's head writer spoke about Peter Capaldi's casting at Hay Festival, saying that the new Doctor will bring about the show's biggest changes since 2005.
© BBC / Adrian Rogers
Steven Moffat says the new series of Doctor Who will be "surprising again"
He said: "We haven't made much of change to Doctor Who since it came back in 2005. It's been the same show. It's maybe amped some things up and lowered some other things, but it's basically the same.
"I just felt it needs to be a bit more different now. It's needs to be surprising again!" he said of his decision to cast an older actor.
Moffat also said that casting a "handsome, yet quirky, young man with entertaining hair" would have resulted in the long-running sci-fi series becoming too formulaic.
© REX/Huw Evans
Peter Capaldi will be joined by Jenna Coleman in the TARDIS
"It would have just exposed the formula," he claimed. "We'd have found somebody great and people would have liked him, but the show would have just become that little bit more ordinary."
Last week, a teaser trailer for the new series was released, confirming that Capaldi's first full series in the role will begin in August.