Peter Capaldi explains why he decided to leave 'Doctor Who'

Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi has revealed the reasons behind his decision to depart the show – and has confirmed he was asked to stay.

It was announced in January that he would be leaving Doctor Who in this year’s Christmas special alongside departing showrunner Steven Moffat.

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Asked about his choice to quit his role as the Doctor, Capaldi told the NY Times: “Oh, no, they asked me to stay on. And I love this show. But I began to get worried about my capacity to deliver my best work.”

He explained: “The schedule is very intense, and I began to wonder, how many different ways can I find to say, ‘The time vortex is going to open up and destroy the entire universe as we know it, unless we blow up that model spaceship over there’? It concerned me that if I did more, yes, I’d be able to do it, but I’d just be phoning it in. And I didn’t ever want to be in that situation.”

Capaldi also hinted that his Doctor’s upcoming exit will be “more complicated” than recent regenerations.