DOCTOR Who companion Jenna Coleman has quit the time-travelling sci-fi series - to spend more time in the 19th Century.
Jenna - time and space-hopping Clara Oswald - has landed a major role as Queen Victoria in a £10million ITV drama.
The glamorous actress, 29, will play the monarch from when she became queen as a frumpy 18-year-old in 1837, through the early part of her 63-year reign.
A source said: "Jenna clinching the role has been a closely guarded secret. There's a lot of excitement about the series." ITV hope the eight-part epic will give them a ratings hit like Downton Abbey.
The series, called Victoria, is written by novelist Daisy Goodwin and made for by the same producers as Poldark.
Goodwin said Victoria's diaries gave "an astonishingly vivid picture of her transformation from a rebellious teenager".
Jenna has been companion to both Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi in her three years with the Doctor. She is thought to have already filmed her final scenes, due to be screened before the Christmas special.
nicola.methven@mirror.co.uk
CAPTION(S):
MAJESTIC Victoria ruled for 63 years from age of 18
ASSISTANT Jenna plays Clara in show
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