Peter Capaldi dislocates thumb in costume malfunction

Peter Capaldi was left nursing a dislocated thumb after an accident during filming for his latest TV role - after getting tangled in a frock.

The new Doctor Who star got caught in a co-star's period costume while filming his new BBC drama The Musketeers, based on the characters created by Alexandre Dumas.

Peter - who was seen regenerating into The Doctor on Christmas Day - had to twist the injured digit back into place himself leaving him weak at the knees with the pain.

He plays Cardinal Richelieu, the first minister and confidant of the French king in the new BBC1 series, which screens later this month.

Peter said the shooting of the sword-wielding adventure series was beset by injuries: "Dislocated shoulders, bruised shins, the odd concussion. It's one of the occupational hazards of being a swashbuckler.

"I myself suffered a nasty dislocated thumb, but embarrassingly not from swinging a sword around. Instead, my injury came from a domestic the cardinal was having with milady, Maimie McCoy.

"I threw her against the wall not realising I'd caught my thumb in her large frock. I felt a jab of pain. And when the director said 'cut' I looked down and saw my thumb was on the wrong way round. Nasty. Instinct took over and I shoved it back - which made my eyes water and my knees weak."

He added: "The lesson clearly was, never get into a fight with Maimie McCoy."

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.