The Time Lord’s feeling lonely this Christmas – but at least there’s a new girl on the scene to perk him up. Diana Pilkington takes a tour of the famous Doctor Who set and meets new sidekick Jenna-Louise Coleman
THERE’S nothing like being on the Doctor Who Christmas special set to get you in a Yuletide mood. It’s August when I visit the Cardiff studio, but a blanket of snow covers the narrow streets of Victorian London and, round a corner, I glimpse the Tardis surrounded by pine trees.
The show’s festive episode is always one of the biggest events of the TV calendar, but there’s an extra reason to watch this year. It’s the first time fans will see Jenna-Louise Coleman as the Doctor’s new sidekick, Clara.
The actress made a surprise appearance in September in the role of Oswin, who was in fact a Dalek, but she insists Clara is another entity.
“I’m not Oswin. I’m a different person,” says Coleman, fresh from wardrobe in a corseted burgundy gown. “The connection is that it’s me playing them both, but this is the mystery. This is where the series goes...”
She tails off, at pains not to reveal too much. As usual, the episode, titled The Snowmen, is shrouded in secrecy.
What we do know is that it features the villainous Dr Simeon, played by Richard E Grant, who controls an army of snowmen with sharp icicles for teeth.
The Doctor (Matt Smith) first meets Clara as a barmaid, but viewers later discover she is a governess to the children of Captain Latimer (Tom Ward).
The episode also sees the Time Lord joined by familiar characters Silurian Madame Vastra, her human friend Jenny and the friendly Sontaran Strax.
