It’s something of a Doctor Who tradition for a companion’s time to end in tears. Very few companions have walked away, either in the modern or classic Doctor Who series, on their own terms.
More details have now emerged since the shocking revelation earlier today that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill would be leaving Doctor Who.
According to the Daily Mail stocking up in Kleenex is going to be a good idea. They quote both showrunner Steven Moffat and series star Matt Smith:
Steven Moffat:
‘The final days of the Ponds are coming and it’s during the next series.
‘I’m not telling you when and I’m certainly not telling you how, but that story is going to come to a heart-breaking end.
‘We have only so many adventures with the lovely Amy and the lovely Rory left, so that story next series, during the series, will be over and then the Doctor is going to meet a new friend.
‘I’m not going to tell you anything about he, she or it.’
Matt Smith
“She’s[Gillan] great. We’ve had the most incredible journey. We took over the show and really had to hold hands and help each other through, it is very disappointing. That is what the show is about – change and regeneration. But we will see a lot of Amy in the next series.”
According to Digital Spy, Smith further stated
“The show will miss the Ponds, brilliantly played by Karen and Arthur, but the great thing about Doctor Who is its ability to change.
“We had the most incredible journey. We took over the show and we’ve really had to hold hands and help each other through it.
“So it’s very disappointing, but one has to remember that this show is about change and regeneration, and that’s what galvanizes it and pushes it forwards.”
Karen Gillan responded to fans on her Twitter
I can tell you all now. I will be leaving Doctor Who in the next series.
I’m so grateful for everything. Honestly. I’ve met such amazing people who I will definitely keep in touch with & had the time of my life!
Reading your tweets. I have the best followers ever! Still some more episodes yet. The BBC have just reported this Twitter as a fake. Hypable as well as other news outlets had cited it after a UK paper incorrectly cited it as legitimate. We regret the error.
Moffat is clearly keeping things interesting by not explicitly stating that the Ponds will last the season. Every other companion in the new Doctor Who era has departed at a season’s end. It adds a new level of jeopardy where their every moment could be their last. The BBC is certainly going to have to work overtime to kill spoilers if they want to maintain the element of surprise and pull off a prior to end-of-series replacement.
How do you feel about this heartbreaking end? Will it mean the deaths of the Ponds or something more tragic such as what befell Donna Noble?