Former Doctor Who Companion Pearl Mackie Says She’s Open To A Return

In a show based around time travel like Doctor Who, no one’s ever really gone for good and fans are always hoping to see old favorites return. In the recent New Year’s special, for example, John Barrowman made a grand comeback as Captain Jack Harkness, with the promise of another appearance to come in season 13. And while we shouldn’t be expecting Billie Piper to show up anytime soon, another former companion has made clear that they would be open to reprising their role.

Pearl Mackie played Bill Potts opposite Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor in 2017’s season 10, the final year of the Steven Moffat era, before new EP Chris Chibnall revamped the series and cast Jodie Whittaker. Though one of the shorter-serving companions, Bill received a lot of love from fans, thanks to her being the show’s first lesbian lead character.

When asked about potentially returning to the role, Mackie told the Radio Times it was maybe too soon for that to happen right away, but she wouldn’t rule it out, saying:

“Yeah it’s definitely not something I’ve ruled out,” Mackie said. “It was a couple of years ago I was on Doctor Who but I do still feel really close to Bill and I do feel like she’s still very much part of me. And I feel like I’d sort of have to miss her before going back to her again, or if there was an amazing story that was written about her and her experiences and meeting another Doctor. But it’s such a great show and I would be crazy to say no.”

As said above, Piper made waves recently by decreeing that she wouldn’t want to return as iconic companion Rose Tyler again on the show as she feels like too much time has passed since her original run as the character. On the other hand, Barrowman shared a selfie of himself in Cardiff not too long ago, which suggests he’s filming at least one more episode as Captain Jack. Will this give us the Torchwood reunion we’re all after?

Speaking of companions, season 13 will see some changes in the TARDIS. With Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh having exited in the recent special, John Bishop will be joining the Doctor and Yaz (Mandip Gill) for new adventures. It’s believed that this could be the final run for Whittaker, however, who’s reported to be stepping down after three seasons.

With filming underway on the new batch of eight episodes, Doctor Who is due to return to our screens later this year.