Peter Capaldi is right choice, in the right time and space for Doctor Who role

Peter Capaldi in 'Inside the Mind with Leonardo'

It was a moment when those of us long-haul time-travellers had to reassure ourselves that we weren’t suffering from Plasmaton-induced psychotronic hyperstimulation.

And there, smiling warily into the light, was Peter Capaldi – the floppy-haired boy who refused to kill Trudy the rabbit in Local Hero; the sabre-toothed lamprey of The Thick of It – and a thrillingly perfect choice for the twelfth Doctor. Perfect, particularly, for fans of my generation. For the first time since June 2005, the owner of the TARDIS is older than I am.

By this afternoon, parents all over Britain will be horrified to discover that their internet-savvy kids are au fait with Malcolm Tucker’s foulest insults. And though Capaldi’s Doctor will not use phrases like “sweaty octopus”, he will be capable of comparable fury.

Matthew Sweet is a TV presenter