Jenna Coleman was "terrified" to do Doctor Who - until she met co-star
Coleman also revealed she had never seen the show before she auditioned.
Jenna Coleman might have instantly won over Doctor Who fans when she first appeared in the cult sci-fi series over a decade ago, but the star has explained she was initially “terrified” to do the show.
The actress starred as Clara Oswald for three seasons, serving as a companion to the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Coleman revealed she had never seen the show before she auditioned, admitting she was “terrified of getting involved until I met Matt [Smith, the Eleventh Doctor]."
She continued: "Then I realised: this is going to be fun! It was such an adventure.”
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Coleman went on talk about her favourite Doctor Who scene, which occurred in the Christmas 2012 special titled The Snowmen and saw the star play a Victorian barmaid who climbed up an invisible staircase to reach the clouds where the TARDIS awaited.
“It was like being in a kids’ storybook,” she said.
“There was something so Alice in Wonderland or Willy Wonka about it. Climbing up into a world of imagination.”
Heaping praise upon former showrunner Steven Moffat, who wrote for the show between 2005 and 2017, she added: “[He] has the most brilliantly inventive mind. He writes scenes that are so beautifully moving without ever tipping into sentimentality.
She continued: "Although when Peter Capaldi took over as the Twelfth Doctor they would have these intense, sci-fi nerdy conversations in a language I didn’t understand!”
Doctor Who will launch back onto our screens in November 2023 with three special episodes to coincide with the show's 60th anniversary, and will feature returning stars David Tennant (as the Fourteenth Doctor) and Catherine Tate (as Donna Noble).
The Fifteenth Doctor, portrayed by Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, will then get the keys to the TARDIS, with his first episode set to air over the festive period in 2023.
Gatwa's new Time Lord will be accompanied by former Coronation Street actor Millie Gibson as companion Ruby Sunday.
Read more about Doctor Who:
Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer with episodes of the classic series also available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or visit our full TV Guideand Streaming Guide.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
