New Doctor Who Producer, Ellen Marsh, has effectively confirmed that the Fifteenth Doctor’s companion has been cast; and because they start shooting soon, we might actually find out their identity this month or next!
When asked by Doctor Who Magazine what she’s most excited about, Marsh enthused:
“The new companion! I think they’re one for the ages.”
The magazine further teased that “secret auditions” for the role of the new companion were held on 24th September 2022, alongside the next Doctor (well, after David Tennant), Ncuti Gatwa.
This might’ve been a screen test to see the chemistry between the shortlisted companions and Gatwa, as is standard for TV and film.
Of course, a lot has rightly been made about Ncuti’s casting, but we can’t underestimate the importance of the Doctor’s companion too — and from the sounds of it, the Fifteenth Doctor will start off with just the one companion. Certainly the mainstream media has overlooked the casting of the companion right now, which is a bit nuts because they’ll be in the spotlight alongside Gatwa on one of the biggest shows on British TV. It’s a big gig, basically.
So when do we think the next companion will be announced? It makes sense to reveal them before filming begins (otherwise, they’ll be spotted on location anyway; new showrunner, Russell T Davies, is far too savvy for that to happen), and though we don’t have an exact date, the next series of Doctor Who is expected to start shooting in December.
Which means that we might hear about the new Doctor Who companion later this month!