Benedict Cumberbatch has said that he is looking forward to seeing his friend Peter Capaldi's first full series of Doctor Who, describing it as 'great news.'  Speaking to the Big Issue the Sherlock star said, "I'm very excited to see him in Doctor Who, he is a class act, Peter, and a great actor."

Peter Capaldi Dr WhoPeter Capaldi [L] and Jenna-Louise Coleman [R] Filming Doctor Who

The pair are no strangers to working together, having both starred in the 2003 ITV series Fortysomething and more recently the Julian Assange biopic, The Fifth Estate.  Filming has just begun on Doctor Who's eighth series and The Thick of It star seems to be easing into his new role nicely. Pictures and a video (below) from the set have shown the Scottish actor riding a mechanical horse in his pyjamas in a very un-Malcolm Tucker like moment Capaldi was also required to ride a real horse but left that to one of the stuntman telling fans he's, "Afraid of the horse and the horse knows it".  

Fans got their first taste of Capaldi as the new Doctor in the recent Christmas special, but they'll have to wait a while before the new series begins. While no official date has been set, show runner Stephen Moffat recently revealed that both the eight and the ninth seasons will air in single runs of 13 episodes, saying, "we're not going to do splits, and the same format will repeat exactly the following year like that - so it will be the traditional form."  

Alongside Capaldi, Jenna Coleman will be returning as the Doctor's sidekick Clara Oswald.  Speaking to the February issue of Doctor Who magazine Capaldi said of his new role "I was five when the show started. I don't remember Doctor Who not being part of my life, and it became a part of growing up, along with The Beatles, National Health spectacles, and fog. And it runs deep. It's in my DNA."