Jenna Coleman Staying with DOCTOR WHO
The BBC has confirmed that Jenna Coleman will continue in her role as Clara Oswald for the next season of Doctor Who.
Coming on board the show in 2012 as Matt Smith’s “Impossible Girl” companion, Coleman has generated quite a bit of fan support (and detractors) in her time traveling aboard the TARDIS. Some have even made the comparison between Clara and Elisabeth Sladen’s role as Sarah Jane Smith, especially with Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor being so reminiscent of “classic” Doctors.
Following the finale of “season 8”, when Clara and the Doctor lied to each other to spare feelings, the two parted ways and speculation began about Coleman’s status.
At Q&A session following “Last Christmas”, show runner Stephen Moffat said, “There was a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing, wasn’t there Jenna? I always think I’m quite good at winding up people on this but Jenna completely outplayed me when she said in an interview ‘I’m not telling you if I’m staying or going because it’s just more exciting’. And it occurred to us all that we don’t start shooting until January so we could actually keep it a secret.”
Coleman herself played fast and loose with the early rumors, saying only, “The truth is, I do not want to tell you the truth. I quite like these rumours. People don’t have any idea. I think people can watch the show, not knowing whether I am or not and I think that is exciting.”
According to an article in the Daily Mirror, Coleman changed her mind on leaving because she didn’t want to quit the show during the Christmas season. Coleman herself said at the post-screening Q&A, “It’s wonderful. I get a whole other series of stories with the Doctor and I couldn’t walk away with the story being unresolved. There is so much more to do. I think they’ve finally just reached a point where they really understand each other.”
Early word had leaked that the conversations had started early to allow for Coleman’s exit, which had been a mutual decision between the actress and the production team. However, the story now is that Coleman wanted to continue working with Capaldi.
Capaldi’s reaction: “I’m thrilled. Jenna has just been fantastic and such a pleasure to work with.”
According to Coleman, the dynamic between Clara and a “new” Doctor makes a big difference in the show, and there’s plenty of unexplored story territory to mine. “The arrival of the 12th Doctor has just kind of dropped this whole bombshell and allowed the dynamic to totally change, so I think just when Clara was feeling more comfortable in the relationship, it has suddenly thrown something new up.”
Doctor Who returns to television in 2015 with “The Magician’s Apprentice”.
