CONFIRMED: Jenna Coleman Leaving DOCTOR WHO
UPDATE 9/18/15: In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Jenna Coleman has confirmed that she has filmed her last scenes as companion Clara Oswald in Doctor Who. “I have left the Tardis – it’s happened,” she said on Friday.
Her departure comes on the heels of her winning the role of Queen Victoria in a new production by ITV, but Coleman says Clara’s exit has been in the works for some time. “Steven [Moffat] and I sat down a year and a half ago and tried to work out the best place to do it and tell a really good story. We’re not going to give any details but it will happen at some point this season… We worked out a really good story arc out so hopefully people will love it.”
ORIGINAL 9/16/15: Big news for Doctor Who fans – maybe.
Jenna Coleman, who plays companion Clara Oswald, is rumored to be leaving the show to take on the role of Queen Victoria in an upcoming eight-part series from ITV. Neither the BBC nor ITV has confirmed the rumor. Coleman has also reportedly filmed her last scenes for Doctor Who as well.
Looking at the episode descriptions for season nine, it looks like this rumor might just be true. The description for episode 2 of season nine, “The Witch’s Familiar” gives just a few hints, saying, “…Trapped and alone in a terrifying Dalek city, the Doctor is at the heart of an evil Empire; no sonic, no TARDIS, nobody to help.”
Beyond that, while little is still known about the upcoming Christmas special, Coleman has not been listed in the cast for the show.
The newest episodes of Doctor Who will premiere on Saturday, September 19, 2015. It begins with a two parter, the first since the sixth series, written by Hettie MacDonald. The Chicks talked companions in Scifi4Chicks: The Metal Bra and the Mad Man, and I got a good rant in about how little I’ve enjoyed Clara’s time as a companion. Check it out here.
The BBC’s full episode list:
Episode 1: The Magician’s Apprentice
Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Hettie Macdonald
Where is the Doctor? When the skies of Earth are frozen by a mysterious alien force, Clara needs her friend. But where is the Doctor, and what is he hiding from? As past deeds come back to haunt him, old enemies will come face-to-face, and for the Doctor and Clara survival seems impossible…
Episode 2: The Witch’s Familiar
Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Hettie Macdonald
Trapped and alone in a terrifying Dalek city, the Doctor is at the heart of an evil Empire; no sonic, no TARDIS, nobody to help. With his greatest temptation before him, can the Doctor resist? And will there be mercy?
Episodes 3 and 4: Under The Lake / Before The Flood
Written by Toby Whithouse
Directed by Daniel O’Hara
Steven Moffat called it “brilliantly creepy… one of our scariest adventures yet!”
Episode 5: The Girl Who Died
Written by Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat
Directed by Ed Bazalgette
Maisie Williams makes her Doctor Who debut in this episode.
Steven Moffat won’t reveal much: “It’s not possible to say too much about who or what she’s playing, but she is going to challenge the Doctor in very unexpected ways.” He added, “This time he might just be out of his depth, and we know Maisie is going to give him exactly the right sort of hell.”
Episode 6: The Woman Who Lived
Written by Catherine Tregenna
Directed by Ed Bazalgette
Episodes 7 and 8: The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion
Written by Peter Harness
Directed by Daniel Nettheim
Ingrid Oliver returns as Osgood. But does she? “I was so sure Osgood was a goner after the last series!” she revealed, “As every actor who’s worked on Doctor Who will tell you, there’s always the secret hope you’ll get the call asking you to come back. To actually receive that call is both unexpected and brilliant. The word ‘honour’ gets banded about a lot, but it really is, it’s an honor.”
Episode 9: Sleep No More
Written by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Justin Molotnikov
The adventure features Reece Shearsmith whose involvement was announced 5th August, 2015.
Episode 10: Face The Raven
Written by Sarah Dollard
Directed by Justin Molotnikov
The episode sees the return of Joivan Wade as Rigsy, the young graffiti artist who helped save the world in “Flatline.”
Episodes 11 and 12: Heaven Sent / Hell Bent
Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Rachel Talalay
I’ll see your rant and raise you (http://theinfinitereach.blogspot.com/2014/12/television-review-doctor-who-season.html)
At last, the stifling miasma of Jena Coleman will be lifted from the Doctor Who franchise. But is is too late? Is the damage done by Coleman’s injection of Mary Sue overdrive irreversible? Or is there something other that glorified fan fiction in the good Doctor’s future.