New ‘Doctor Who’ companion Pearl Mackie to get the boot after one season: Report
Pearl Mackie is reportedly set to be axed from Doctor Who after just one series of playing the Time Lord’s assistant.
The 29-year-old actress joined the cast of the BBC show in April, 2016, starring alongside Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. But after the actor announced he had quit the show, with his last episode coming at the end of the year, The U.K. Sun now claims that Mackie’s days on the show are “numbered.”
“Bosses have decided to have a completely fresh start,” a source told the newspaper. “Peter has already confirmed his exit and the rest of the team’s days are numbered too.
“It’s yet to be formally decided but it makes sense to give Chris (new Doctor Who boss, Chris Chibnall) his own choice of actor to play the Doctor and his companion.”
The report comes just weeks after Mackie revealed that her character Bill Potts will make Doctor Who history by becoming the first openly gay character in the show, with her sexuality revealed at the beginning of the first new episode when the BBC sci-fi series returns to Space here in Canada on April 15.
“It shouldn’t be a big deal in the 21st Century,” Mackie told the BBC. “It’s about time, isn’t it? That representation is important, especially on a mainstream show.
“It’s important to say people are gay, people are black – there are also aliens in the world as well so watch out for them.
“I remember watching TV as a young mixed race girl not seeing many people who looked like me, so I think being able to visually recognize yourself on screen is important.”
It remains to be seen who replaces Capaldi as the next Time Lord and, if The Sun’s claims are true, as his new assistant. There has been speculation that bosses are hoping to break another boundary by having a female actress play the Doctor – with Tilda Swinton and Olivia Colman among the names apparently being considered for the part.