We still have a while to wait for the new season of Doctor Who, but BBC has given fans something to look forward to when the hit series returns in 2017: the debut of The Doctor’s new companion.
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The network has released a clip from the upcoming season featuring actress Pearl Mackie as Bill, a woman who will be accompanying actor Peter Capaldi on his next set of adventures through time and space as The Doctor. Mackie replaces Jenna Coleman, the previous companion to The Doctor, who departed the series at the end of the ninth season.
Along with revealing Mackie as The Doctor’s new traveling companion, the clip also features the return of one of the series’ longstanding villains: The Daleks.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Doctor Who family,” said Mackie in a statement released by BBC to accompany the clip. “It’s such an extraordinary British institution, I couldn’t be prouder to call the Tardis my home … Peter Capaldi is such a brilliant actor, and his Doctor is such a wacky and wonderful character, I can’t wait to see what adventures are in store for him and Bill throughout time and space.”
As with many of the previous actors to play companions to The Doctor, Mackie is a relative unknown at this point in her career, having played a role in the 2014 series Doctors and in the 2013 film Svengali, but with no other credits on her resume.
With production on the 10th season of Doctor Who expected to begin soon, it’s uncertain whether the clip is from one of those episodes or the upcoming holiday special that will air in December. The next full season of Doctor Who won’t premiere until 2017, and will mark the final season for longtime showrunner, head writer, and executive producer Steven Moffat. Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will take over Moffat’s role for the show’s 11th season.
