What’s a great Doctor without a kick-ass companion?
Ever since the Time Lord first hailed from the planet Gallifrey, Doctor Who has been accompanied by all manner of assistants big and small, with Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) pledging their services to the outgoing Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi.
If you’re a long-time supporter of the hit BBC series, you’ll likely find it difficult to select a favorite from the archives, but it’s fair to say that Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) left quite the impression on Who fans between the years of 2007 and 2010. Starring opposite David Tennant, Agyeman’s companion is well versed in the TARDIS and everything it represents, and during a new interview with Radio Times, the actress hinted at the possibility of a return.
I had a really great time on the show, I really loved the character, it brings so many people so much joy. So never say never! I feel like there was more to explore with Martha, definitely, but I don’t know what form that would take. I know I kept doing audiobooks until after I’d even left the show. So I don’t know – it could be case of maybe one day, maybe one day soon, maybe one day in 30 years time. We will wait and see.
While Agyeman doesn’t completely close the door on coming back for more, it’s definitely unlikely, given that BBC’s long-running drama has just tapped new personnel ahead of its upcoming eleventh series – not to mention this year’s Christmas Special. Speaking of which, it turns out the public broadcaster actually came close to scrapping the annual festive episode, and it was only when outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat intervened that the BBC locked down plans for 2017.
“There was one big glitch, which was Christmas. I was going to leave at the end of series 10 – I had my finale planned and what I wanted to do with it,” said Moffat. “I had a good notion of that. Then I learned at a drinks event somewhere that Chris didn’t want to start with a Christmas, so at that point they were going to skip Christmas. There’d be no Christmas special and we would’ve lost that slot. Doctor Who would’ve lost that slot if we hadn’t [done a special] because Christmas Day is now so rammed. So I said, probably four glasses of red wine in, ‘I’ll do Christmas!’ and then had to persuade Peter [Capaldi] that’s how we were leaving.”
The Doctor Who Christmas Special will be with us in and around December 25th. All signs point to a bittersweet finale, too, given “Twice Upon a Time” will stage a suitably emotional and bittersweet send-off for Peter Capaldi. In his stead, Broadchurch actress Jodie Whittaker is all set to headline the eleventh series in 2018.
