BBC star Peter Capaldi reveals real reason why he turned down The Celebrity Traitors

With season two of The Celebrity Traitors on the horizon, BBC viewers have been eagerly speculating about who will be descending on the iconic Scottish castle for another series of the hit game show hosted by Claudia Winkleman.

But while the line-up is yet to be announced, one BBC star has revealed why he decided to turn down an appearance in the new series.

Peter Capaldi, best known for playing the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who, has revealed that he declined to appear in The Celebrity Traitors because of the “level of exposure” the show creates. Season one of the show pulled in an average audience of 14.9 million, becoming the most-watched series on the BBC in 2025.

In an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the The Devil’s Hour actor revealed he had been asked to join the all-star spin-off of the beloved show, but turned the opportunity down.

Peter Capaldi’s reason for not joining The Celebrity Traitors

When asked about the reason behind his decision, Peter, 67, said: “Because I think there’s a level of fame that… I think it propels you into the public eye, at a level of exposure that I don’t really want.  

“I like doing, you know, it’s like doing my music things – it’s very difficult for people in that business to understand that you want to keep it small.”

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He added: “People keep saying to me, why don’t you do a bigger tour, or why don’t you do a bigger release, or why don’t you promote this more? And I don’t… I’m not doing it to be famous.”

Peter Capaldi’s role on Doctor Who 

Peter appeared in Doctor Who from 2013 to 2017, before handing over the reins to Jodie Whittaker. Reflecting on the iconic role, Peter admitted he has a “little regret” about leaving too early.

“It’s great fun being Doctor Who, but the pressure of it is quite intense,” said the actor. 

“You’re sort of on all the time and you don’t want to disappoint anyone because even though I’m not Doctor Who, if people are meeting me they’d rather meet the version of me that is Doctor Who.

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Trying not to let his fans down, Peter explained: “Because I’m quite miserable and melancholic, really. 

“And that was, that was one of the big changes in my life, I guess, which happened quite late, was I’m quite miserable really, but I thought you can’t be miserable if you’re Doctor Who.

“You can’t because you would disappoint people so I have to become cheerful all the time.”

Peter Capaldi’s latest role

In his upcoming role, Peter stars as DCI Daniel Hegarty across from Cush Jumbo in Apple TV’s second season of Criminal Record. Set in London, the thriller follows two rival detectives as they work to hunt down a killer.

© Apple TV

But what begins as a murder investigation soon turns into an undercover operation to foil a far-right bomb plot in the heart of Britain’s capital city.