The New Doctor Who Companion Is…(Plus Series 7 Updates!)


Founder
03/21/12 03:43am
12 Comments

… Jenna-Louise Coleman, who is best known for her role on the British soap, “Emmerdale.” (Check out a video of her here.)

Jenna Colaman - Doctor Who Ms. Coleman will star beside Matt Smith in the seventh series of the hit show. She follows Karen Gillan, who recently announced she was leaving the show.

What do you think? Is this the right choice for the next companion? Sound off in comments!

There’s more casting coming today so stay tuned!

Update (10.32 am GMT): Jenna-Louise Coleman has been confirmed as the new companion by the official Doctor Who Twitter.

Update (10.47 am GMT): From the official Doctor Who Twitter:

  • “I want to get started already” says Jenna. “I’m a huge fan of the show”. Of her favourite companion “Between Billie Piper & Karen Gillan”
  • “Matt Smith did my audition with me. It was fun and I felt like we were in it together” says Jenna.
  • Steven [Moffat, showrunner]: “We saw a lot of brilliant actresses. But Jenna was the only person going faster than Matt – he had to keep up!”

BBC’s Lizo Mzimba adds (also on Twitter) that Coleman’s first episode will be the Christmas Special 2012 after Amy and Rory leave at the end of this autumn’s five episodes:

  • Jenna-Louise Coleman officially confirmed by BBC as new Dr Who companion. Her first episode will be the Xmas special.

Update (10.53 am GMT): From the official Doctor Who Twitter:

  • There will be 6 episodes this year, including the Xmas Special. Then 8 next year. Jenna’s character will first be seen at Xmas.
  • No announcement on plans for the 50th anniversary given today.

Update (10.58 am GMT): Autumn return of the Daleks and Weeping Angels confirmed and Steven Moffat says not everyone will survive the series. From the official Doctor Who Twitter:

  • Steven “Amy & Rory will leave in a final encounter with the Weeping Angels in ep 5. Not everyone gets out alive and I mean it this time”

Update (11.02 GMT): You can now read the full press release issued by the BBC Press Office below:

Jenna-Louise Coleman has beaten hundreds of hopefuls to become the new companion to Doctor Who, it was announced today by Steven Moffat.

Twenty-five year old Jenna from Blackpool will star alongside the 11th Time Lord, Matt Smith, to mark the biggest year in the show’s history.

Best known for her roles in Emmerdale (Jasmine Thomas) and Waterloo Road (Lindsay James), Jenna will replace Karen Gillan when she and Arthur Darvill bow out of the show in a heartbreaking departure after one final series of rollercoaster voyages later this year on BBC One.

Jenna says: “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.”

The Doctor will meet his new friend in a dramatic turn of events as the show builds towards its enormous, climactic 50th anniversary year – full of thrills, adventures and big surprises. Series seven is currently filming and comprises 14 big, blockbuster-movie episodes – each a brand new epic adventure featuring new monsters and some familiar foes as you’ve never seen them before.

Lead writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, says: “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.

“It’s not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it’s about to happen. 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.”

Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One, adds “As we approach Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary it’s great to welcome a new companion to the TARDIS. I feel confident the Doctor will look after her in his own very unique style.”

In 2011 Jenna made her big screen debut in Captain America: The First Avenger and is soon to star as Annie Desmond in ITV1’s Titanic. She has just finished filming on Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing On The Edge for BBC Two.

Doctor Who is a BBC Cymru Wales Production for BBC One.

Update (2.51 GMT): The BBC has done an interview with Jenna that can be found right by clicking right here.

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  • Jordan Jimjamz

    She’s gorgeous! I’ll take two of her, please!

    • http://profile.yahoo.com/WLHSEYAZIJ67FIWV6NGQGDHFQA Elayta

      Yet somehow until now they’ve had gorgeous companions who weren’t idiotic, bad actors, and have no appeal other than looking slutty.

      • http://twitter.com/juanapt Jo Anne

        No need to be so foul mouthed. Besides, you may find her crappy ’cause she was in soaps and maybe you don’t like soaps, doesn’t mean she can’t be brilliant as the Doctor’s companion.

  • http://twitter.com/eastkentmummy GinnyRose aka Jay

    not being funny but i not ever liked Karen Gillan she always seamed a bit up her self to start with she was ok but know it like ok stop over acting your spoiling it for us all now

    • Em

      She’s also a person with feelings which could get hurt if she sees something like this. Congrats.

  • http://twitter.com/hpfan2342 Nathan Mathewson

    I have lost the ability to can and the ability to even !

  • Polargirl

    Sweet! She’s a cracking little actress, as opposite in looks to KG as you could find, but certainly no less attractive ;-D She’ll be great.

  • Jessie

    can’t judge until i’ve seen her in action
    tbh though…i’m not really digging it, but that’s just because i was hoping for a male companion because i think the doctor needs a bro
    but who knows she could prove me wrong and be really awesome

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/WLHSEYAZIJ67FIWV6NGQGDHFQA Elayta

    UGH. Change is good, and I get why you need a girl as the main companion- balance of characters, audience surrogate, etc… But until now they’ve managed to have great ones.
    Now, in trying to pander even more to American audiences probably, they pick a ‘hot’ girl who weighs 3 pounds and can’t act for crap (soaps and action movies, and she even manages to suck in them!). Way to stay classy, BBC.

    • Critterfur7

      Wow…way to bash America out of nowhere. Doctor Who has been drowning in “hot girls” for almost 50 years…they’re famous for it (almost as famous as the Bond franchise). Amy even pointed that glaring fact out in a deleted scene from her first season, and they basically sped through photos of the Doctor’s past Companions, who were mostly female, physically attractive, and in a few cases scantily clad (Leela, anyone?). Some could act, some couldn’t…this new girl wouldn’t be the first. The British (and quite a few other countries) have no problem throwing model-types, ex-pop singers, and the like at the Doctor Who audience (with no help from the American audience whatsoever). Watch the documentary Exporting Raymond sometime (which features the producer of Everybody Loves Raymond trying to create a version of the show in Russia) and witness him trying to explain to the Russian costume designer that the main female character is not supposed to be glamorous or on the cutting-edge of fashion. Sorry to go on for so long about this, but American audiences (as far as I can tell) loved Amy, Donna, Martha, Rose, Sarah Jane, etc. Doctor Who has rarely tried to “pander” to American audiences, and during Russell T. Davies’ years actually seemed to go out of their way to paint America as ignorant and unlikable, pandering to a British public which increasingly disliked America…References to Bush era politics, portraying Obama as someone who claimed he had a “solution” to the world’s economic crisis, and actually killing one President (made-up, I’ll grant you), who was portrayed as ignorant, belligerent, and a zealot. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the anti-American references, and American audiences still loved the show.

  • Rosemary

    I am more upset that Rory or Amy might die!! I am glad their story is coming to a close but imagine everything with River and all of the stories they have had I just want them to be a companion that gets to grow old together!!

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