Peter Capaldi rules out return to Thick Of It role

Peter Capaldi says politics are dark and dangerous. Picture: Getty Images

Speaking at the BAFTA Scotland awards in Glasgow, the Doctor Who star said he could not imagine a new series of The Thick Of It, sitcom set in the corridors of power in Westminster, because “times are so unpleasant and unsteady at the moment.”

The BBC show, created by Glasgow-born Armando Iannucci, ran for four series from 2005-2012 and also inspired a spin-off film In The Loop, which saw Capaldi take his volatile character to the United States.

Earlier this year Iannucci said he could not envisage the show coming back because the political landscape was so “alien and awful.”

Capaldi, who is currently starring in Doctor Who, said: “It (The Thick Of It) was something that we did which was great fun. It’s up to Armando Iannucci, he’s the guy that one that put it all together.

“It was very much of its time. Times are so unpleasant and unsteady at the moment. Politics is not funny.

“I think we’re in quite a dangerous place. It’s too serious. It’s gone somewhere genuinely dark.”

Capaldi, who is committed to a new series of Doctor Who next year, said he had no plans to step down from the role, even though it is “life-consuming.”

He added: “One of the nice things about Doctor Who is you get the benefit of a programme that has been running for 50 years, that people have grown up with.

“You get inhabit it for a few years and get to stand on the shoulders of all the other people that have had a go at it.

“Most people have had a go at it in the playground when they were young. The scripts of Doctor Who are great, it’s a good laugh, you get to blow up Daleks and you get to chase men in rubber suits. I love doing it, I’ll do it as long as I am happy doing it.”