Peter Capaldi receives a farewell gift on the set of Twice Upon a Time (2017).
On Wednesday 13 December 2017, a special preview of Twice Upon a Time took place at London’s Science Museum. The episode was screened for an invited audience that included Tony Hall (the BBC’s Director-General) and a number of Doctor Who alumni, including Waris Hussein (the series’ first director) and former companions Nicola Bryant, Janet Fielding and Katy Manning. After the screening, Jo Whiley hosted a Q&A with David Bradley (who played the First Doctor), Mark Gatiss (the Captain), Pearl Mackie (Bill Potts) and outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat, who also wrote the episode. Lord Hall had already insisted that questions should only be taken from the youngsters in the audience, and Steven kept the ensuing conversation characteristically light.
In many respects, however, Twice Upon a Time is a sombre, philosophical episode, and there was no disguising the sadness that surrounded both Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi’s departure from the series.