With Doctor Who, those leaving the show can never rule out a return trip in the TARDIS at some point in the future as time travel makes it oh-so-easy for their character to stage a comeback. But what about the Doctor’s last companion before her current group of pals: Bill Potts, as played by Pearl Mackie? Would she be up for another spin in the time vortex?
Mackie spoke to Radio Times recently and was asked this very question. The actress seemed to be open to the idea, but only if the opportunity comes later down the line, as she feels she needs “more time” to move away from the character first.
“I think I need more time, to be honest. I still feel quite close to Bill. I need to miss her before I want to play her again, you know? I think I need to [do that] and find a way to add to her story before wanting to go back and play her again.”
Bill Potts saved the world at the side of the Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, in the 2017 series of the show. Mackie’s last appearance as the character – one of Doctor Who‘s first gay companions – was in that year’s Christmas special. So it’s fair enough that she feels it’s too soon to bring Bill back just yet.
Reflecting on the time she did spend in the TARDIS, the actress added: “I was happy to work with Peter [Capaldi], and to do just one series was a gift.”
Mackie’s comments on needing to find a way to continue Bill’s story are fair, too, as it’d be pretty hard to do as the character had a very transformative arc on the show. Literally. At first she was a normal human. Then she was a Cyberman. Then she became a sort of space-traveling water woman. Then her soul was held in a glass clone of herself after she died. If that makes no sense to you then…well, join the club.
Doctor Who‘s taking a year off in 2019 – apart from the January winter special – and is set to return for season 12 in “early 2020.” As for when and if we’ll see Mackie on the show again, that we don’t know, but at least she’s not ruling it out.
