This is a day we all probably knew was coming. To quote Doctor Who itself, the moment has been prepared for. Jenna Coleman will evidently leave the time-and-space adventure series following Series 9 which is mere days away from premiering. According to Britain’s Daily Mirror (which is about as reputable a source as any celebrity gossip rag), Coleman will leave to star in ITV’s eight-part, mega-budget miniseries about Queen Victoria. Though the BBC did not issue a comment, in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday, a friend of mine sent this attachment:
When I got up this morning, however, that message is no longer on that profile. It should be pointed out that there are several Jenna Coleman accounts on Facebook and I have no idea if this one is the legitimate Jenna Coleman. It’s possible it really IS her and her reps or the BBC made her pull it. Use your own discretion I suppose.
At any rate, even if this quote isn’t really from her, the writing was sort of on the wall for awhile. It has been well documented that Coleman had planned to leave Doctor Who following Series 8, which explains that goodbye scene she got in “Death in Heaven” and the easy-out of making her old in “Last Christmas.” However, the actress changed her mind and asked to be kept on the series for another year, which Moffat happily obliged.
We know that Coleman has filmed all 12 of the episodes of Series 9, but she was not part of the filming of this year’s Christmas special, which will see the return of Alex Kingston as River Song. Coleman has played Clara Oswald since Series 7 and, counting the two episodes in which she played splinter timeline versions of Clara, Series 9 will make Coleman the longest-serving companion in the whole of the reboot series. And the show’s better for it, I think. Clara has long been a favorite companion of mine and Coleman’s talent is evident in every scene. It’s no wonder she’s going on to bigger things.
What do you think about Jenna Coleman leaving the show? Are you getting prepared to say goodbye to Clara now? Share your feelings in the comments below.
—
HT: Mirror
Featured Image: BBC
Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor, a film and TV critic, and the resident Whovian for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!
