Karen Gillan named as new Doctor Who companion

A little known British actress, Karen Gillan, has been named as the new companion to star in the fifith series of Doctor Who opposite Matt Smith. This will end months of speculation about who would be sharing the TARDIS with The Doctor in the new series: names as diverse as Lily Allen and short-lived companion Michelle Ryan were previously rumoured to be in consideration for the role.

In a scenario that closely mirrors Freema Agyeman's selection as the third series companion, Gillan appeared in a previous Doctor Who episode, The Fires Of Pompeii. She made an impression on the producers during the filming of that episode, and was one of the potential candidates for the role of companion. (Interestingly, the BBC website uses the word 'assistant', which I assumed had been dropped in favour of 'companion')

A quotable quote from Stephen Moffat suggests that he's expecting to create an iconic Who companion:

A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too.

Most pundits are reasonably happy about two unknowns taking over the roles: mostly because we'll have no preconceptions of their acting abilities and there'll be no association with other roles they've played in the past. Matt Smith is in for some stick for being the youngest actor ever to play the role.

I think most purists are hoping that Moffat will dial down the sexual tensions between the Doctor and his companions. An hilarious comment on The Guardian website says "David Tenant's gregarious STD ridden loner is as inconsistent as the scripting". Hopefully there'll be a little emotional distance in the fifth series instead of The Doctor grinding his companions up against the TARDIS console. He is - after all - hundreds o years their senior, despite appearances, which makes him the ultimate dirty old man.

Sadly, no details are forthcoming on what the new companion will be called and no intelligence about her background, job, family. I can't wait to meet this new companion though - what about you?