Last we saw of Clara Oswald, she had just been saved from facing the Raven, stole a TARDIS with the self-named Me, and wiped her time as a time-traveling badass clean out of the Doctor’s memory. This left a rather noticeable companion-sized hole in our favourite police call box.
But, even though they flew off in their own TARDIS on their own adventure, Me’s Maisie Williams told BANG Showbiz (via Digital Spy) she would not be reprising her role:
“I’m not going to be working on Doctor Who again. Everyone’s hyping about it, which is very exciting, but I guess that’s more of a publicity thing. But no, I’m not going to return, I have a lot of other really exciting projects lined up instead.”
Since then, we’ve been put on hiatus — both for the show and the search for the next companion. Peter Capaldi says the showrunners are looking for someone “different” to fill Jenna Coleman’s shoes.
Rakhee Thakrar, known for her role as Walford’s Shabnam Masood on EastEnders, is supposedly in talks with BBC bosses for the next space time continuum traveling companion.
Although reports say auditions for the role have been open for a little while now, the BBC has already set its heart on the 32-year-old actress. Since she just exited EastEnders after two years, she will have no problem fulfilling her new duties to the Doctor.
Thakrar’s new role has not been set in stone just yet, but, if she takes it, she will be the first non-white main companion since Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones. Martha traveled with David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in New Who’s third season, first appearing in “Smith and Jones” after Rose Tyler was left on that beach in an alternate dimension.
BBCSorry, do you have a tissue?
The tenth season of Doctor Who would mark Thakrar’s first season on the show but also mark the last for long-time series showrunner, Steven Moffat. He will be handing the show off to a new producer, Chris Chibnall.
Not only will Moffat be leaving, but Peter Capaldi, who has only played the lonely Time Lord for two years, hinted in an interview with The Telegraph that he will also leave:
“This could be my final year — it’s terrifying. I love Doctor Who but it can be quite an insular world and I do want to do other things. There will come a time when this is over. But I knew that when I started. I was thinking about my regeneration scene from the outset. That’s my terrible melancholic nature. When you accept the job you know there’ll come a day, inevitably, when you’ll be saying goodbye.”
2017 will mark a “fresh start” for Chibnall’s space-time adventure.
What are your thoughts on Rakhee Thakrar as the new companion? With so much time dedicated to finding Jenna Coleman’s replacement, what will the BBC do about a new Time Lord?
Doctor Who‘s tenth season will premiere in Spring 2017, but we will get a 2016 Christmas special to tide us over.
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