Peter Capaldi records heart-warming YouTube message for autistic boy learning to cope with grief
Thomas had apparently sent a letter The Doctor as he was preparing for the funeral of his grandmother
Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who may be one of the more sinister incarnations of the much-loved TV character British television has seen.
But the actor never-the-less showed his softer side when he sent this heart-warming YouTube message to a nine-year-old boy diagnosed with autism – a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates to, and relates with, the people and environment around them.
Thomas had apparently sent a letter The Doctor as he was preparing for the funeral of his grandmother.
The contents of the letter are not known, but receiving the clip from Capaldi, his mother said, helped him to cope with the grief he was newly feeling for the first time "in a profound way".
"Sometimes sad things happen to us," Capaldi says in the video, "So it’s nice to know that here’s somebody out there who’s on our side..."
"Wow. Had no idea this would go viral. We only posted it so family could see it after the funeral," Ross Goodall, Thomas's father, has since posted in the comments section of the YouTube clip.
"Made such a huge difference and helped him cope with the hardest of days. It was an incredibly kind thing to do that has help Thomas gain perspective and not feel so alone in his grief. Where Thomas is autistic, he doesn't feel emotions the same way the rest of us do so this has been incredibly hard for him. This message seems to have given him the strength to keep going, with his chin up."
Doctor Who: Death in Heaven
Show all 11"Wish I could thank Mr Capaldi in person," he added.
The message came ahead of the premiere of the big Doctor Who finale of Capaldi’s first series, the aptly titled “Death In Heaven”, last night.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies