Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi favourite to replace Matt Smith

The actor, best known for his role as sweary spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker, has replaced former Time Lord favourite Rory Kinnear after the Skyfall actor revealed he has never even seen an episode of Doctor Who. A sign, perhaps, that Capaldi’s newly-declared top spot should be taken with a pinch of salt. Regardless, William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly has said:

"Peter Capaldi was not even in our list a few days ago but he has been the subject of a lot of betting interest recently and this gamble would suggest that if he does not have the part already, he is almost certainly on the shortlist."

William Hill went on confirm to RadioTimes.com that Capaldi surged to the top after dominating 60% of all betting on Doctor Who, with other candidates making up the remaining 40%.

If 55 year-old Capaldi were to take over from Matt Smith (who was 26 when when he took the role), he would chime with Steven Moffat's recent comments of, "We've never not considered an older Doctor. It is completely on all the lists we make - there are absolutely older Doctors."

It also wouldn’t be the first time the Scottish actor would have appeared in Doctor Who. In 2008, under David Tennant’s Doctor, he played the role of Roman Caecilius in The Fires Of Pompeii. Since then, he has gone on to enjoy success in The Thick Of It, The Hour and, more recently, Brad Pitt’s zombie epic World War Z.

Behind Capaldi in second place is Law and Order’s Ben Daniels at 4/1, with other names on the list being as follows...

2/1 Peter Capaldi

4/1 Ben Daniels

6/1 Rory Kinnear

10/1 Ben Whishaw

10/1 David Harewood

10/1 Idris Elba

12/1 Chiwetel Ejiofor

12/1 David Molony

16/1 Andrew Scott

16/1 Chris Addison

16/1 James Frain

16/1 Russell Tovey

20/1 Alex Jennings

20/1 Benedict Cumberbatch

20/1 John Hurt

20/1 Daniel Radcliffe

25/1 Billie Piper

25/1 Hugh Grant

25/1 Rupert Grint

33/1 Colin Morgan