Who's charmed the Doctor?
- Publication: Daily Express
- Date: 2013-04-27
- Author: Catrin Carrucan
- Page: 6
- Language: English
Doctor Who's hugely popular new companion, Jenna-Louise Coleman, is 27 today — and she has plenty to celebrate
Casting is a funny process. The right people sort of choose themselves: says Doctor Who's lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat "It happened with Matt (Smith) a long time ago, and when we saw him bantering with Jenna-Louise Coleman it happened again.
"Auditions start with you telling the actor about the character and sometimes they end with the actor telling you. That's what happened with Jenna-Louise!"
It seems as though the role of the Doctor's confident, adventurous companion Clara Oswald was made for Jenna-Louise Coleman. The actress, who turns 27 today, has proved a huge hit with the show's fans and TV critics alike since joining Matt Smith on the show permanently, with many touting her as the Doctor's best assistant yet.
"Although I haven't received a single love letter or marriage proposal since !joined!" she jokes. "It might change but so far people don't really recognise me. I think it's because I'm short, whereas Matt is tall and has a distinctive walk so he's easy to spot."
Matt, who has played the Time Lord since 2010, has also been singing his new co-star's praises.
"In Clara, the Doctor has met someone who bites back, that's for sure. There's also a big question mark over her this series as to why and what she's doing: says Matt, 30.
"Jenna-Louise has done brilliantly well. She's kind, charming, thoroughly prepared and very brave as an actress."
Blackpool-born Jenna-Louise has seen her profile rise dramatically since taking on the role of mysterious Clara. Before Doctor Who, Jenna-Louise was already a familiar face on television having landed the part of Emmerdale's Jasmine Thomas at the age of 19.
She left the soap after four years in 2009. Roles in Waterloo Road, Julian Fellowes' Titanic and BBC dramas Room At the Top and Dancing On The Edge followed. But it's as Clara that Jenna-Louise has really caught the public's attention.
"I remember thinking how fantastic it would be if I actually got the part and how great it would be to work with Matt," Jenna-Louise says other first audition for the show. "And that's exactly what happened!
"For the audition, all of the producers left the room and left me and Matt to just literally run around and play. And then everyone came back in and then we got to do it.
"I didn't know where it was going to go. I just felt thrilled and excited by it. I knew that this is what I wanted to do, day in, day out. Every day really is so different and I don't know what's going to be thrown at me, which is great. It's keeping that spontaneity. I left the audition knowing that this was something special:
Indeed, the on-screen chemistry between the Doctor and Clara is obvious with fans commenting on the underlying air of sexual tension between the characters.
Jenna-Louise has revealed that when she won the role, Matt suggested she watch films starring Hollywood couple Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy to draw inspiration.
"He thought they'd be useful in understanding the rhythm and pace of a relationship between a male and female lead, and they were," she explains. "He also suggested I watch some Indiana Jones films, which I'd never seen before, because the main character is always accompanied by various women on his adventures."
In real life, Jenna-Louise is in a relationship with Game Of Thrones actor Richard Madden.
Doctor Who celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, culminating in a special episode in November that will include guest stars such as Gavin & Stacey's Joanna Page. Former Doctor David Tennant and Billie Piper, who played sidekick Rose Tyler, will also be making a highly anticipated return.
"It's massive!" Jenna-Louise says of the episode. "It's going to be a real treat for Doctor Who fans over the past 50 years."
But there's a lot more to look forward to before the anniversary special as series seven continues.
Tonight's episode, Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS, promises to give fans a never seen before in-depth look into the time-travelling spaceship, as well as revealing some big secrets about the Doctor.
The episode will showcase the brand new TARDIS set, which was built in the Doctor Who studios in Roath Lock, Cardiff.
"It's impossible to keep still while you're in there as there is so much to look at and play with," says Jenna-Louise.
In a series, which has already seen guest appearances from the likes of Celia Imrie, Dougray Scott and Call The Midwife's Jessica Raine, next week's episode, The Crimson Horror, sees acting legend Dame Diana Rigg star alongside her daughter Rachael Stirling for the first time on screen. After filming the 50th anniversary, episode, Matt and Jenna-Louise still be taking from Doctor Who.
But, for Jenna-Louise, life will never be the same again. As she told The Big Issue recently, "I do feel like I'm living quite a different existence at the moment. But I have absolutely fallen in love with Clara.
And so, it seems, has everyone else.
Kissing Charley Webb in Emmerdale (2008); as Waterloo Road's Lindsay Hughes (2009); with Glen Blackball in Titanic (2012); and with Matthew Goode in Dancing On The Edge (2013)
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Carrucan, Catrin (2013-04-27). Who's charmed the Doctor?. Daily Express p. 6.
- MLA 7th ed.: Carrucan, Catrin. "Who's charmed the Doctor?." Daily Express [add city] 2013-04-27, 6. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Carrucan, Catrin. "Who's charmed the Doctor?." Daily Express, edition, sec., 2013-04-27
- Turabian: Carrucan, Catrin. "Who's charmed the Doctor?." Daily Express, 2013-04-27, section, 6 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's charmed the Doctor? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_charmed_the_Doctor%3F | work=Daily Express | pages=6 | date=2013-04-27 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 April 2024 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who's charmed the Doctor? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_charmed_the_Doctor%3F | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=23 April 2024}}</ref>
