‘Doctor Who’s’ Clara Oswald Changes Mind, Will Stay For First Half Of Season 9

Fans of Doctor Who, rejoice. A new companion is not needed after all.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that Jenna Coleman, currently playing companion Clara Oswald, has done a turnaround and will be back for at least the first half of season 9. Coleman, 28, had originally decided to leave after the Christmas special. She then was part of a world tour promoting the show, and that seems to have convinced her to stay on for a while longer.

Representatives for Coleman have been contacted, but no official reply has been given.

Coleman’s decision to remain with the show will definitely please showrunner Steven Moffat, who has stated many times previously that he feels the chemistry between Coleman and current Doctor Peter Capaldi, 56, is great, and still evolving.

The reversal did cause some backtracking on the part of the show’s writers. The first couple of scripts for the new season now have to be redone to include Clara. Some revisions also have to be made to the Christmas special, also. The show, entitled Last Christmas, has the Doctor and Clara confused about what is reality and what is fantasy, but get some help from the jolliest of warriors, Santa Claus (played by Nick Frost of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame).

The BBC’s blurb for the Christmas special teases as much; “The Doctor and Clara face their last Christmas. Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus!”

The Daily Mail is reporting a source close to the show saying, “When it came to Clara they had to tear the scripts up and start again. In the original draft of the script, she became an old woman who then died with the Doctor at her side. But after they were rewritten, she will now be seen returning to the Tardis, hand in hand with the Doctor.”

Fans of the show, and specifically Coleman, are ecstatic about her return. The relationship between Oswald and the Doctor is quite popular with fans. The biggest factor, though, seems to be the working relationship between Coleman and Capaldi. Coleman got a chance to bond with the last incarnation of the Doctor during the last season and during the promotional tour.

The Christmas special will include Capaldi, Coleman, Frost, Nataile Gumede, Nathan McMullen, Michael Troughton and Faye Marsay. In the tradition of Doctor Who, it will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC America Christmas Day. Check local listings for the time in your area.

[Image courtesy of My Bright Pink Cadillac]