Peter Capaldi has said that he isn’t going to be in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials.

It’s pretty gutting, seeing as we miss the Twelfth Doctor a lot (and seeing him again alongside Clara Oswald or Bill Potts and Nardole would be a joy). Nonetheless, Peter said:

“It’s very hard to imagine how you’d get a decent crack of the whip when there’s 14 of you, you know? So I think I’d rather leave it as is, because I loved my time on Doctor Who and loved doing it. I don’t want to be Doctor Who’s assistant.”

Then again, if he were in the 60th anniversary celebrations, he couldn’t say anything beforehand, could he? A fact that he stresses in the interview with SFX magazine:

“It used to drive me insane on Doctor Who, not being able to talk about anything. It’s like, ‘Who cares?!’ But then I get into trouble.”

Yes, it might be difficult vying for attention among other Doctors, but he’s done it before, notably in his last episode, Twice Upon a Time, with David Bradley as the First Doctor. And not to mention the 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, which briefly featured… Capaldi’s eyebrows. Well, fair enough. The Eleventh and Tenth Doctors took the focus in that tale, as did John Hurt’s War Doctor, although other incarnations cameoed too.

So for now, the 60th anniversary episodes — The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle — will star David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor, and Catherine Tate returning as Donna Noble.

Unless more Doctors turn up as well. Maybe the Twelfth Doctor, even…?