 The Scottish actor and film director Peter Capaldi was cast in 2013 as the 12th incarnation of the Doctor , in the BBC science @-@ fiction series Doctor Who . His casting was announced on 4 August 2013 in a special BBC programme hosted by Zoë Ball . Capaldi first appeared as the Doctor in a cameo in the 50th anniversary special , " The Day of the Doctor " , before appearing in the 2013 Christmas special , " The Time of the Doctor " . A lifelong fan of the series , Capaldi had played Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode " The Fires of Pompeii " and a civil servant , John Frobisher , in the 2009 spin @-@ off Torchwood : Children of Earth . 
