In the months leading up to this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, the fantastic “Last Christmas,” speculation had run rampant as to whether Jenna Coleman, who joined the popular sci-fi series back in 2012, would be returning for the upcoming ninth season, but now the actress has confirmed that she will be returning for more adventures across time and space.
Fans had to wait until the end of the Christmas special to learn that Coleman would be reprising the role of Clara Oswald next year. The actress first played the part when Matt Smith was in the role of the Doctor, and many wondered whether her character’s youthful energy would still work once Peter Capaldi took over the part, as he was playing a darker and more serious version of the long-regenerating Time Lord.
Once the eighth season received stellar reviews, however, the real question became how long Coleman would want to remain with the series (previous Doctor Who companions have remained stars on the show for any length of time between one to three seasons). As it turns out, the actress feels that there are plenty of further stories to tell involving Clara and the Doctor.
“It’s wonderful,” she said, confirming that she would return. “I get a whole other series of stories with the Doctor and I couldn’t walk away with the story being unresolved.” Coleman added:
“There is so much more to do. I think they’ve finally just reached a point where they really understand each other. 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.”
For his part, Capaldi is pleased that Coleman will be remaining on board. “I’m thrilled,” he said. “Jenna has just been fantastic and such a pleasure to work with.”
Doctor Who will return for its ninth series sometime next year.
