Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi pens handwritten letter to fan 'dreading' his regeneration

'It's like the Doctor says, 'Everything ends and it's always sad. But everything begins again, and that's always happy. Be happy'

Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi wrote a touching letter to a young fan who was dreading saying farewell to his favourite Time Lord.

Capaldi's iteration of the classic TV character regenerated during the show's Christmas special, with Jodie Whittaker now stepping into those illustrious boots to take the character on to new adventures in the next series.

It's always an emotional scene for fans, but Capaldi took the time especially to reassure 9-year-old David McGilloway, from Londonderry, whose father posted the actor's letter to his son on Twitter.

After wishing him a Merry Christmas, Capaldi wrote that even though regeneration "can be a little icky (like really bad flu), it has always, always turned out good for Dr. Who. The new Doctor always becomes your favourite and the one that goes... well, he never really goes, he is always there, somewhere in time and space, and if you think about him hard enough you'll see him, and he'll see you."

"It's like the Doctor says, 'Everything ends and it's always sad. But everything begins again, and that's always happy. Be happy."

David told the BBC that the letter, which he opened alongside his presents on Christmas morning, left him "speechless and surprised". "The letter was just so magical, the envelope it came in, Peter Capaldi drew a Dalek on it and it said my name on it," he added.

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