Jenna Coleman Leaving DOCTOR WHO at Series Nine's End

Well, at least this may get some of the Clara haters to shut up, shut up, shuttity up up up...

BBC News has word that Jenna Coleman, who plays companion Clara Oswin Oswald on Doctor Who, will be leaving the show at the end of Series Nine.  According to The Mirror, her next role will be as Queen Victoria in an eight-part drama series about the former monarch's life.

Coleman's last episode as Clara should be "Hell Bent," the Series Nine finale.  Showrunner teased this episode in the Radio Times with the following description:

“Is it a sad song?”

“Nothing’s sad till it’s over. Then everything is.”

“What’s it called?”

“I think it’s called Clara.”

“Tell me about her."

If you took everything from him, and betrayed him, and trapped him, and broke both his hearts... how far might the Doctor go? It is time, at last, for the Doctor's confession.

Rumors of Coleman's departure began after the announcement of River Song returning for the Doctor Who 2015 Christmas Special, which failed to mention Coleman appearing as Clara.  Also, there was the recent guest change at Salt Lake Comic Con, where Alex Kingston was forced to cancel her scheduled appearance to film the Christmas Special, only to be replaced at the convention by Coleman.  The BBC has so far declined to comment on Coleman's departure.

In an interview published in the Radio Times this week, Coleman remarked on her eventual departure from the series.  "You're in Doctor Who knowing it will never last," she said.   "It's constantly regenerating, so you want to make your time count and enjoy the adventure for the fleeting time you're here."

First appearing on Doctor Who as Oswin in the 2012 episode "Asylum of the Daleks," Coleman originally planned to leave in 2014 during the Series Eight finale "Death in Heaven," only to return for "Last Christmas," and then return again for Series Nine.

"["Death in Heaven"] was her last episode," said Moffat.  "Then she asked me if she could be in ["Last"] Christmas.  So I said, 'OK, I'll write you out in Christmas.'  She came to the read through and did the 'write out' version, and again changed her mind.  But the truth is I never wanted her to go.  And with 'Last Christmas', I'd already written the alternative version where she stayed, and I preferred that version. Frankly, I didn't want to lose her.  She's an amazing actress, and she never stops working to make Clara better.  I was very happy to go the extra mile to make sure we could keep her."

Doctor Who returns to BBC America with "The Magician's Apprentice" on September 19th.