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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Craig Meighan

Peter Capaldi: 'I would vote Yes at the next independence referendum'

SCOTTISH actor Peter Capaldi has come out in favour of independence.

The Doctor Who star suggested that after the "relentlessness" of the past 12 years it's time for Scotland to leave the Union.

The Glasgow-born actor has previously been tight-lipped on the matter of independence, saying it wasn't an issue he was drawn to.

Despite being one of Scotland's most prominent stars he didn't include his name in The Guardian's list of more than 200 celebrities urging Scots to stay in the UK.

But he didn't reveal his support for Yes either.

Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of the launch of his new show The Devil's Hour, Capaldi said his faith in British politics has been eroded since the Conservative Party came into power.

He said that as a Glaswegian, he would now support independence.

He told the newspaper: "It used not to be something I was particularly drawn to.

"I’ve lived in London for most of my life, and always loved Cardiff and Manchester and Belfast.

"But after the relentlessness of the past 12 years, everything we have been put through, it might just be time to go home and be a part of that.”

Asked if that means he would vote Yes in the next referendum, he said: "I would, yeah".

Capaldi, who is widely known for his role as bullying communications director Malcolm Tucker in Armando Iannucci's The Thick of It has criticised the UK Government in recent years.

The National: Peter Capaldi is best known to many as the cunning Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of ItPeter Capaldi is best known to many as the cunning Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It (Image: BBC)

In 2021, he was asked how his character in the show would react to claims Dominic Cummings made about the UK Government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The actor said: “I can’t really say what Malcolm would say because the language would be unusable.

"But I think in many ways what we are seeing... is like The Thick of It because of the levels of vitriol and absurdity and ego that are going on.

“At the same time, it is beyond that. It is a kind of tragicomic situation without the comic bit and I think it is beyond a joke.

“These are the people who are supposed to look after us and they are behaving in a way that is not funny.

“So I don’t even think Malcolm would exist in this world. He is too good for this world.”

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