Skip to main content

Who is the New Companion: Karen Gillan Cast Opposite Matt Smith in Season Five of "Doctor Who"

The TARDIS is about to get another traveler.

21-year-old unknown Karen Gillan has been cast in Season Five of Doctor Who, where she will star alongside incoming series lead Matt Smith, who replaces David Tennant as the Doctor when Tennant departs the series later this year.

Filming on Season Five of Doctor Who is set to begin this summer and the series is expected to debut on BBC One next spring.

Gillan is no stranger to Doctor Who, however, and appeared early on in Season Four in the episode "The Fires of Pompeii," where she played a soothsayer on the much-beloved British series. She has previously also appeared in such programs as Rebus, Harley Street, The Kevin Bishop Show, and Stacked and can be seen opposite James Nesbitt in the upcoming feature film Outcast, written and directed by Colm McCarthy.

"We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it," said Season Five's lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat in a statement. "A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too."

"I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it," said Gillan in a statement. "Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started!"

The full press release from BBC One, announcing the casting of Gillan on Season Five of Doctor Who, can be found below.

Doctor Who unveils new companion for 11th Time Lord


The BBC today revealed that the companion for the forthcoming series of Doctor Who will be Karen Gillan.

Twenty-one-year-old Gillan will star alongside new Time Lord, Matt Smith, when the smash hit drama returns to BBC One in spring 2010.

With filming due to begin this summer, Gillan beat off dozens of hopefuls to land one of television's most coveted roles.

Gillan said: "I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it.

"Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started!"

Lead writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, added: "We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too."

Executive Producer and Head of Drama BBC Wales, Piers Wenger, said: "We knew Karen was perfect for the role the moment we saw her. She brought an energy and excitement to the part that was just fantastic. And when she auditioned alongside Matt we knew we had something special. It is a partnership that is ready to take on the universe!"

The new series of Doctor Who comes to BBC One, Spring 2010.

Season Five of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, will launch in 2010.

Comments

Alex said…
I was hoping that the producers would have cast someone more well known. I thought Michelle Ryan was brilliant as Lady Christina in PLANET OF THE DEAD and wish they had brought her back to pair up with Matt Smith. Oh well.
Mazza said…
No Sally Sparrow????

If they were going to cast unknowns, they should have just brought Sally back instead of going with someone else that no one knows.

But I'll watch anyway and might grow to love Karen's character as much as I did Rose, Martha, and Donna.. and Sally!
Wes said…
I don't know. I think casting someone that's not a recognizable face means that Matt Smith can be front and center a bit more. Why put the spotlight on the companion instead of the Doctor? I think it's a good idea and am going to go back and watch "Fires of Pompeii" to see if I can pick her out of the crowd.
The Doctor Who Powers-That-Be have always done a brilliant casting job so I'm going to trust their decision to go with an "unknown" actor and look forward to seeing what she brings to the role!
Unknown said…
Cool pics of Karen Gillan

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWebNemesis

Popular posts from this blog

What's Done is Done: The Eternal Struggle Between Good and Evil on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Every story begins with thread. It's up to the storyteller to determine just how much they need to parcel out, what pattern they're making, and when to cut it short and tie it off. With last night's penultimate season finale of Lost ("The Incident, Parts One and Two"), written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, we began to see the pattern that Lindelof and Cuse have been designing towards the last five seasons of this serpentine series. And it was only fitting that the two-hour finale, which pushes us on the road to the final season of Lost , should begin with thread, a loom, and a tapestry. Would Jack follow through on his plan to detonate the island and therefore reset their lives aboard Oceanic Flight 815 ? Why did Locke want to kill Jacob? What caused The Incident? What was in the box and just what lies in the shadow of the statue? We got the answers to these in a two-hour season finale that didn't quite pack the same emotional wallop of previous season

Pilot Inspektor: CBS' "Smith"

I may just have to change my original "What I'll Be Watching This Fall" post, as I sat down and finally watched CBS' new crime drama Smith this weekend. (What? It's taken me a long time to make my way through the stack of pilot DVDs.) While it's on following Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars on Tuesday nights (10 pm ET/PT, to be exact), I'm going to be sure to leave enough room on my TiVo to make sure that I catch this compelling, amoral drama. While one can't help but be impressed by what might just be the most marquee-friendly cast in primetime--Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Jonny Lee Miller, Amy Smart, Simon Baker, and Franky G all star and Shohreh Aghdashloo has a recurring role--the pilot's premise alone earned major points in my book: it's a crime drama from the point of view of the criminals, who engage in high-stakes heists. But don't be alarmed; it's nothing like NBC's short-lived Heist . Instead, think of it as The Italian

The Daily Beast: "How The Killing Went Wrong"

While the uproar over the U.S. version of The Killing has quieted, the show is still a pale imitation of the Danish series on which it is based. Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "How The Killing Went Wrong," in which I look at how The Killing has handled itself during its second season, and compare it to the stunning and electrifying original Danish series, Forbrydelsen , on which it is based. (I recently watched all 20 episodes of Forbrydelsen over a few evenings.) The original is a mind-blowing and gut-wrenching work of genius. It’s not necessary to rehash the anger that followed in the wake of the conclusion last June of the first season of AMC’s mystery drama The Killing, based on Søren Sveistrup’s landmark Danish show Forbrydelsen, which follows the murder of a schoolgirl and its impact on the people whose lives the investigation touches upon. What followed were irate reviews, burnished with the “burning intensity of 10,000 white-hot suns