Peter Capaldi’s letter to a nine-year-old Doctor Who fan who was concerned about the titular character’s latest regeneration has gone viral after the father of the child posted it online.
Capaldi exited the long-running BBC show at the conclusion of the 2017 Christmas special, which aired on Monday (December 25). Jodie Whittaker, who made her first appearance as the iconic Doctor during the episode, will be the 13th Doctor Who.
With the Doctor’s latest regeneration occurring during the Christmas special, David McGilloway, a nine-year-old Doctor Who fan from Londonderry, received a letter from Capaldi – via Father Christmas – to ease his worries about the Doctor’s well-being during the regeneration process.
Capaldi’s handwritten letter assured McGilloway that while “regenerating is not completely good fun” and “can be a little bit icky (like really bad flu)”, it “always, always turned out good for Dr. Who.”
McGilloway’s father, Brian, posted a picture of the letter on Twitter yesterday (December 27) – see it below.
#PeterCapaldi is my 9 year old son’s fav #DoctorWho and he was dreading his regeneration. And then he got this letter with some words of comfort from the Doctor himself among his Santa presents. Such a kind man. pic.twitter.com/Dki37Wt6Er
— Brian McGilloway (@BrianMcGilloway) December 27, 2017
Speaking to the BBC, Brian praised Capaldi’s efforts in taking the time to write the special letter for his son.
“It was such a lovely thing for [Capaldi] to have done, I don’t know how Santa managed to do it,” he said. “[Capaldi] has taken a lot of time and effort, it is such a generous and kind thing to have done.”