Pearl Mackie Announced as New 'Doctor Who' Companion
The British actress has a solid theater background.
When the 10th season of Doctor Who returns to the BBC in 2017, title character Peter Capaldi, will be joined by British actress Pearl Mackie as his companion, Bill, in the long-running show.
She replaces Jenna Coleman, who joined the show in 2012 as Clara Oswald, and then left after the completion of Season 9, which aired in 2015.
Mackie most recently performed in National Theatre’s West-End production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. She also starred in another BBC production called Doctors in 2014.
There have been many companions in the long history of the series, but Capaldi’s 12th Doctor has largely only traveled with Clara, who provided the lens through which fans see the mysterious character.
The announcement was made during halftime of the FA Cup semi-final between Everton and Manchester United, shown on “Match of the Day” on BBC One. Doctor Who has been teasing the reveal on Twitter with a countdown to the event and a brief trailer that showed the Doctor and his companion in Vans SK8-Hi Slim skate shoes, running through a hallway.
Now we’re given the full context of that scene.
In the clip, the Doctor and Bill are running away from killer robots, and displaying some of their early on-screen chemistry as they bicker over how to handle the situation; Bill, naturally, has a lot of questions about the tank driven by super-evolved mutants.
“Why do they keep saying exterminate?” Bill quips. “Wouldn’t it just be quicker to say kill.”
“Do you really want them to save time?” the Doctor responds.
“Good point!”
Twitter was ablaze with anxious fans waiting through the long commercial break to see the reveal, and they were not being patient.
Many were expressing their dismay that they had to watch a Soccer game to see the new character.
But in the end, fans will just have to wait till the show airs to see how Mackie works out.
