Fans had figured it out by the time the credits rolled on last night’s Christmas special of Doctor Who, but the BBC have now confirmed that Jenna Coleman will return as the Doctor’s assistant Clara in the next series.
There had been a lot of theories and speculation surrounding whether or not the former Emmerdale actress (she also had a minor role in Captain America: The First Avenger) would stick around for the 2015 batch of episodes, but fans of the hit BBC Wales series will be glad to know that she’ll stay by Peter Capaldi’s side!
“It’s wonderful,” the Doctor Who actress said in a statement today. “I get a whole other series of stories with the Doctor and I couldn’t walk away with the story being unresolved. There is so much more to do. I think they’ve finally just reached a point where they really understand each other. The arrival of the 12th Doctor has just kind of dropped this whole bombshell and allowed the dynamic to totally change, so I think just when Clara was feeling more comfortable in the relationship, it has suddenly thrown something new up.”
Coleman joined the cast of Doctor Who in 2012 when Terminator Genisys star Matt Smith was The Doctor.
Capaldi meanwhile said: “I’m thrilled. Jenna has just been fantastic and such a pleasure to work with.”
