I have to say, Peter Capaldi might be my favorite Doctor ever, not just because he’s a brilliant actor who’s truly taking his lines and making them spark (as his predecessors all have), but because of how forthright he’s been about being the steward of Doctor Who itself. As far as we know, Capaldi will be the first modern Doctor to carry over to a new showrunner, something that’s not happened since Tom Baker in the ’70s. And so it’s only fitting that Capaldi be the one to talk about things, drop little hints, and generally be the ambassador for the show while it’s on its year-long hiatus.

Case in point, today, where he expressed in an interview with Brazilian publication Omelete (via NME) that the new companion to replace Jenna Coleman‘s exiting Clara Oswald has been cast, though he’s not saying who it is yet (not surprising, obvs). He said the “new companion” will be coming along “any minute,” but that it hasn’t been made official, or at least not in the press. He also said:

“Obviously I know who that is and we’ve been doing a bit of work together already, and it’s very exciting. Because it’s a very different sort of take on it.” He went on to contrast this new character (we’re playing the pronoun game just as much as he is) will be 100% fresh. “Clara had prior knowledge of the Doctor. It was conceived as a human connected to your timeline, and so had access to the cosmic nature of the Doctor,” Capaldi explained. “She understood a little about how he was. And as she was already with Matt [Smith], she knew the Daleks and the TARDIS. Now we have someone who knows very little about the Doctor.”

We still have no idea who the companion will ultimately be, but the money still seems to be on former EastEnders actress Rakhee Thakrar. But, given that Capaldi’s name wasn’t rumored until about a week before he was announced, I’d say whatever name surfaces in the next couple weeks will be the winner, unless they announce it like tomorrow in which case it’ll probably still be Thakrar. Or someone else. I have no idea.

What are you hoping we get from a new Doctor Who companion? How much is Capaldi the best? Let us know in the comments below!

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HT: Entertainment Weekly
Image: BBC

Kyle Anderson is the Weekend Editor, a film and TV critic, and the resident Whovian for Nerdist.com. Follow him on Twitter!