Doctor Who: Steven Moffat says search for new companion is in 'very early stages'

Are you a member of the British actors’ union and have a yen to travel through time and space with a two-hearted alien in a small (but bigger-on-the-inside!) blue box? Then, we bring good news! Doctor Who executive producer Steven Moffat says that the search for an actor to play the titular Time Lord’s new traveling companion is still in the “very, very early stages.”

“There’s nothing really to report,” continues the showrunner. “We’ll make a noise when we’ve got something to say, don’t worry.”

The need for a new companion has been prompted by the looming departure of Jenna Coleman from the show. For the past few years, Coleman has played teacher and temporal explorer Clara Oswald, but in September the actress revealed that the current, 12-episode run of shows would be her last. In fact, rumor has it that Coleman’s character will depart the show in the next episode, which is called “Face the Raven” and will be broadcast on BBC America, Nov. 21. Moffat, predictably, declined to comment on that possibility but did reveal that this Saturday’s show, the 10th of the season, would kick off a climactic trilogy of interconnected adventures for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.

“[The season] ends with three episodes, all of which cliffhanger into each other in a quite major way,” says the executive producer. “They’re very linked, but it won’t feel like a three-part story. In a traditional Doctor Who way, it builds to a huge climax in episode 12.”

You can see the trailer for “Face the Raven” below.