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Dr. Who Announces New Companion

By Susan Macdonald
Published on: 18:10 PST, Apr 23, 2016

Dr. Who, the long-running BBC show about the time-traveling alien known only as “the Doctor,” has announced the actress who will be playing the Doctor’s new Companion.

“BBC Americaannounced today Pearl Mackie will join the Doctor Who cast as The Doctor’s new companion. Pearl was exclusively revealed to audiences on BBC One during half time the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, August 23.”

Dr. Who premiered on the BBC November 23, 1963. It is one of the most popular television shows in the world. Over the years, the actors playing the Doctor have changed over a dozen times. The Doctor is currently played by Peter Capaldi.

Dr. Who traditionally has the Doctor accompanied by one or more Companions (called Assistants in the early days of the show): his teenage granddaughter (Susan, played Carole Ann Ford), an 18th century Scottish piper (Jamie MacCrimmon, played by Frazer Hines), a 20th century journalist (Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen, who got her own spin-off show), a 21st century doctor (Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman), and dozens of others. Companions have come from different eras, planets, and dimensions. The Doctor’s new Companion will be played by Pearl Mackie, who adds a touch of diversity to the cast of Dr. Who.

According to Krypton Radio,Pearl Mackie will be playing a woman named Bill. She played Foh girl in the movie Svengali, starring Martin Freeman (Dr. John H. Watson on Sherlock). Like her Dr. Who predecessors Colin Baker, who was the 6th Doctor, and Louise Jameson, who played Leela, Companion to Tom Baker as the 4th Doctor, Pearl Mackie appeared briefly on the soap opera Doctors.

The Guardian reports that Pearl Mackie trained as an actress at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Since her graduation from drama school in 2010, “she has worked across theatre, film, radio and television.” Mackie is currently appearing on stage in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the London’s Gielgud Theatre.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Doctor Who family. It’s such an extraordinary British institution – I couldn’t be prouder to call the Tardis my home. I can’t wait to see what adventures are in store for him and Bill throughout time and space…. Reading the script at the audition, I thought Bill was wicked. Fantastically written, cool, strong, sharp, a little bit vulnerable, with a bit of geekiness thrown in.”

Playing the Doctor’s new Companion on Dr. Who will be Pearl Mackie’s biggest role since beginning her acting career six years ago. At present, her IMDB.com account is only one sentence long.

The website Nerdist pointed out the importance of Pearl Mackie being cast on Dr. Who as Peter Capaldi’s new co-star. (The British say series where an American would say season.)

“The casting of Mackie is actually a fairly monumental one. She becomes only the second full-time companion to be a person of color since Freema Agyeman played Martha Jones beginning in series 3. She’s also just the third person of color period, if we’re counting Noel Clarke’s Mickey Smith, who briefly traveled with the Tenth Doctor for an arc in series two.”

Since the Doctor is recast as a new actor when he regenerates, many fans have asked if Dr. Who could hire a person of color or a woman for a future incarnation of the Doctor. By hiring a person of color as the Doctor’s new Companion, the BBC may have opened the door for a future Doctor to be played by Idris Elba, Chiwetelu Ejiofor, David Oyelowo, or George Harris.

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Are you looking forward to seeing Pearl Mackie join the cast of Dr. Who as the Doctor’s new Companion?

[Photo by Adam Gasson/Getty Images]

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