Enlarge (credit: Doctor Who, BBC)

He joined as the twelfth actor to play The Doctor when he replaced Matt Smith in 2013, during the show’s 50th anniversary year. It also means that Capaldi’s exit will coincide with showrunner Steven Moffat’s departure from Doctor Who. Moffat said last year that the tenth series of the time-bending drama, which is set to air in the UK on April 15, will be his last.

Capaldi—when confirming his exit on BBC Radio 2—said that his final episodes would reveal “a darker thing that emerges at the end.” He added: “I suppose the big thing about it, for me, is that it will be my last.”