After winning over the entire fandom with her performance as Bill Potts, the show’s first lesbian companion, Pearl Mackie confirmed at the Doctor Who panel at San Diego Comic-Con that she won’t be returning for 2018’s season 11.
The actress, who joined the show just this year in season 10, looked to have already made her exit in the season finale earlier this month. In the two-part storyline, Bill was tragically upgraded into a Cyberman. In the end, however, she got a more hopeful ending when, essentially, her spirit went travelling around the universe with her kind-of girlfriend Heather.
Shockingly, the trailer for the Christmas special – which also dropped at the show’s SDCC panel – revealed that Bill would actually be back for the final episode of current Doctor Peter Capaldi. This briefly raised fans’ hopes that Mackie would stick around for the next season as well but sadly, the actress said that she was only returning one last time to see her Doctor off.
The Christmas special is titled “Twice Upon A Time” and will see Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor team up with his original incarnation, with Harry Potter star David Bradley taking on the role that was originally played by William Hartnell from 1963-66. Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss will also feature as a mysterious military character currently only known as The Captain.
Of course, “Twice Upon A Time” is a hugely important outing for the series as it’ll feature the debut of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, the first time a woman has portrayed the face-changing Time Lord in the show’s 54 year history. Though some remain on the fence, most have welcomed the casting with open arms. For instance, even though she won’t get the chance to act opposite her in the show, Pearl Mackie is a massive fan of the decision.
Gwaaaaan #jodiewhittaker #doctor13 🎉🎉🎉🎉
— Pearl Mackie (@Pearlie_mack) July 16, 2017
Doctor Who returns on Christmas Day.
