Pearl Mackie has made an unexpected revelation about what happened when she landed her ‘Doctor Who’ role, revealing that the show’s bosses told her not to catch up on previous series.
The actress is set to play the Doctor’s latest assistant, Bill Potts, in the upcoming tenth series of the drama, which premieres next month.
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Pearl with Peter Capaldi
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Now, speaking to SFX magazine, Pearl has revealed that showrunner Steven Moffat asked her to leave the boxsets well alone before filming, and start work on the show with an open mind instead.
Explaining what happened when she took his advice, Pearl said: “I think it’s stood me in quite good stead in terms of my approach to [playing Bill].
“I talked to Steven and Brian after I’d got the job – I was like, ‘Look, gimme the back catalogue, let me watch it all!’
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The duo on set in January
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“I initially planned to watch all of Peter’s stuff with Jenna, so I could see what he was like as a Doctor, and they were like, ‘Don’t watch it, because she doesn’t know anything about that, and actually what you’re bringing to it is a really nice kind of freshness. What you’re doing is working’.”
While the upcoming series of the BBC show will feature Pearl’s debut as the Doctor’s companion, it will be the final outing for Peter Capaldi.
Peter Capaldi is proof that an older star can be perfect in the show's lead role, and anything that means we get more Helen in our lives can only be a good thing.
2
Janelle Monae
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Janelle has only just turned her hand to acting, but as anyone who has seen 'Hidden Figures' can confirm, she's certainly something special.
Might the BBC be aiming a little high if they tried to sign up the Screen Actors' Guild award winner? Yes. Does that mean they shouldn't try? Absolutely not.
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Rebecca Root
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We're still disappointed that Rebecca's show 'Boy Meets Girl' won't be returning, but landing this role would make up for it.
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Vicky McClure
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Vicky has proved she's got what it takes to tackle huge roles, thanks to her parts in 'This Is England' and 'Line Of Duty', but we'd love to see her take on something with a fun side.
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Jenna Coleman
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Jenna served as the Doctor's loyal assistant for three years, but in the world of science fiction, anything is possible and we're sure the writing team could cleverly come up with a way to put her front and centre.
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Samira Wiley
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Samira is no stranger to television, having starred as Poussey Washington in four seasons of 'Orange Is The New Black'.
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Joanne Froggatt
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We haven't seen enough of Joanne since 'Downton Abbey' came to an end, and the Tardis would certainly be a departure from the drab and dingy servant's quarters her character Anna was used to.
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Susan Wokoma
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2017 is being billed as Susan's breakthrough year, but her CV is already more-than-impressive, thanks to roles in shows such as 'Misfits', and films 'Burn, Burn, Burn' and 'The Inbetweeners 2'.
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Sian Brooke
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Sian made her mark on 2017's 'Sherlock', playing a master of disguise. Quite frankly, if she can morph into four different personas with such ease, the role of the Time Lord would be a walk in the park.
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Antonia Thomas
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Antonia is another star who found fame on E4, playing the feisty Alisha in 'Misfits' - which also gave her a taste for the perils of time travel.
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Olivia Colman
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Multi-award winning actress Olivia also made the bookies' shortlist, with odds of 20/1.
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Hayley Atwell
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Hayley was vocal about the fact she wanted the role back in August 2015. Her comments came at an interesting time, as 'Doctor Who' writer AL Kennedy had just claimed that the Doctor should never be a woman.
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Lara Pulver
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When Capaldi announced his decision to step down from the role, bookies soon named Lara the female favourite for the role, offering odds of 10/1.