View source for Watch these bad boys or you'll end up like my last companion Doctor Who unveils his new partner (and she's a real Pearl)

[[File:2016-04-24 Irish Mail on Sunday.jpg|thumb|right|550px|The Irish Mail on Sunday]]{{article
| publication = The Mail on Sunday
| file = 2016-04-24 Mail on Sunday.jpg
| px = 550
| height = 
| width = 
| date = 2016-04-24
| author = Chris Hastings
| pages = 13
| language = English 
| type = 
| description = 
| categories = cast changes
| moreTitles = Pearl Mackie is Doctor Who's new companion
| morePublications = Irish Mail on Sunday
| moreDates = 2016-04-24
| text = 
HE'S been missing a fellow traveller since his last companion Clara was killed off last year. But yesterday Doctor Who took on a new time-traveller - actress and singer Pearl Mackie.

She was unveiled in a special trailer shown on TV during the half-time break of last night's live FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Everton. Miss Mackie is best-known for her role in the BBC daytime soap Doctors, but very little is known about her new character, except that she will be called Bill.

In the clip broadcast yesterday, Bill and the Doctor - played by Peter Capaldi - came face to face with his old enemy, the Daleks. The Doctor may well have had a quiet word of warning for Bill, as her predecessor once featured in a terrifying episode when she was trapped inside one of the aliens. The unmasking of the Doctor's new assistant ends months of speculation about who would take over from Jenna Coleman, who played Clara for three series. Apart from her appearances in Doctors, Ms Mackie, 28, has featured in a video for pop band Years and Years with actors Ben Whishaw and Tuppence Middleton. She is currently starring in the West End production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time at the Gielgud Theatre. Last night's trailer showed a no-nonsense young woman who is not afraid. When she and the Doctor first spot the Daleks, Bill is reassured by the fact that they are so wide, because that means they will not be able to get through the door towards her. She points out that the galaxy's most feared killing machines have 'a sucker' stuck on them and says: 'Why do they keep saying exterminate? Wouldn't it be quicker to say kill?' The actress said last night she was thrilled to be playing the role, adding: 'I can't wait to bring her to life, and to see how she develops through the series.'

Though her appointment remained a closely guarded secret until last night, the actress had been a favourite to land the role after it emerged that Capaldi had recently visited her backstage at the Gielgud.

She follows other famous assistants such as Billie Piper and Bonnie Langford in the role.


Caption: SPACE ODDITY: Pearl Mackie, also seen top left, meets Peter Capaldi and a Dalek. Right: The Doctor's previous assistant, Clara

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