Rumour: Christmas Won’t Be Jenna Coleman’s Last

Round and round we go! The Mirror, the paper that started the whole rumour about Jenna Coleman leaving Doctor Who in the first place, are now claiming she won’t be after all. They cite an ‘insider’ who says she’s had “a change of heart”.

The story states:

Jenna Coleman will not be saying Ta-tardis to Doctor Who as expected this Christmas.

The 28-year-old actress’s decision to remain as the Time Lord’s glamorous assistant Clara Oswald in another series will delight millions of fans.

Jenna had originally planned to bow out in the upcoming BBC1 festive special, and it was reported in August that the Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, would soon be in need of a new sidekick.

But since then she has changed her mind about departing and asked to remain for the first half of the new season, to be broadcast next autumn.

Her decision to linger has thrilled bosses, including Steven Moffat, who believe she has great chemistry with Capaldi, 56.

But it has meant scrapping the first set of new scripts. One show source revealed: “When it came to Clara, they had to tear them 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.”

The rest of the special, teasingly entitled Last Christmas, sees the Doctor and Clara unable to fully determine between a fantasy world and reality.

They are helped along by Nick Frost as Santa, who comes to the pair’s aid and is the hero of the hour.

The insider added that Jenna had had a “change of heart” about leaving, having done just one series with Capaldi.

The pair, who have drawn widespread acclaim for their partnership, also bonded during the World Tour to promote series eight, for which they visited seven cities across five continents in 12 days.

UPDATE: a BBC spokesperson told RadioTimes: “This is speculation so we won’t be commenting. Viewers will have to watch the Christmas episode to find out!”