• News

• All

Jenna-Louise Coleman at the Press Conference in London Where Her Casting Was Announced

Mar 22, 2012 By Cody Ray Shafer Doctor Who

This week the BBC announced that 25-year-old British actress Jenna-Louise Coleman will be joining the Doctor Who cast as the new companion opposite Matt Smith’s The Doctor. She will make her debut with the 2012 Christmas Special. It had been previously announced that current companions Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will be leaving the internationally renowned sci-fi series in the upcoming new season.

Coleman has already made waves on British television on the soap Emmerdale and made her Hollywood debut in 2011’s Captain America. She has been nominated for several awards in her short career, including the TV Choice Awards and the British Soap Awards. The name and other specifics of Coleman’s character have yet to be revealed.

Doctor Who‘s Executive Producer/show-runner/head writer Steven Moffat commented on the casting. “It always seems impossible when you start casting these parts, but when we saw Matt and Jenna together we knew we had our girl. She’s funny and clever and exactly mad enough to step on board the TARDIS,” Moffatt said via a press release.

“It’s not often The Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it’s about to happen,” Moffatt continued. “Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that’s all you’re getting for now. Who she’s playing, how The Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by The Doctor’s standards, this isn’t your usual boy meets girl.”

Coleman also commented on her casting: “I’m beyond excited, I can’t wait to get cracking; working alongside Matt I know is going to be enormous fun and a huge adventure.”

2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the show, which began in 1963 and is still going strong. Doctor Who went on hiatus during the ‘90s but was brought back in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston playing the lead role along with Billie Piper as his companion. Matt Smith, the current Doctor, is the 11th actor to play the part and the upcoming season will be its seven since its return. The Doctor is an alien who travels through space and time in his ship the TARDIS.

Season seven will start this fall and will continue into the 50th anniversary. Season six centered around a larger story arc, but season seven will feature standalone episodes, there won’t even be any two-part episodes.