Doctor Who: first look at Peter Capaldi's '100% rebel' costume

FANS of Doctor Who have been given a first glimpse of Peter Capaldi in his new Time Lord costume.

In a photograph released by the BBC, Capaldi is dressed in a navy Crombie coat with a red lining, a matching waistcoat, dark blue trousers and a plain white shirt, along with shiny black Doc Martens.

The new look, which was created by Doctor Who costume designer Howard Burden, is described by Capaldi as: "Simple, stark, and back to basics. No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100 per cent rebel Time Lord."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It hints at a "sterner, more serious" Doctor, writes Simon Swift of Metro. "There's nothing really playful about this outfit - no sticks of celery, no question-mark umbrellas or intarsia knit jumpers and, thank the lord, no patchwork coat of many colours," he says. "It's just a really smart look."

Capaldi cuts a "cool and stylish" figure in his new costume, says Neela Debnath in The Independent. "While his predecessor Matt Smith opted for a tweed jacket and bow tie to create a 'mad professor' look, Capaldi's Doctor appears to have gone for a more demure and contemporary outfit."

Debnath compares the costume to that of the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee. "Gone are the cape and ruffles but there is still an edge to it," she says.

Stuart Heritage in The Guardian says the costume sits "somewhere between those of the previous two Doctors and a slightly flamboyant best man cutting shapes at a wedding reception".

Capaldi is looking like the "most formal Doctor for decades", he adds. No Matt Smith fez or David Tennant crusty trainers. "And, happily, there's a sense that this Doctor would punch you in the face if you ever tried to pin a stick of celery to his lapel."

Meanwhile, some fans have spotted a similarity between Capaldi's stance and one that John Travolta pulls in Grease. "Could the 12th Doctor be a secret fan of high-school musicals? Is it a coincidence?" asks Heritage. "Perhaps he just has trouble finding his centre of gravity. We'll know for sure when Doctor Who returns later this year."