Fans of Doctor Who have been left in a state of disbelief at the ‘disrespect’ of former companion and viewer favourite Clara Oswald.
This came as a special episode of the spin-off documentary series Doctor Who: Unleashed celebrated 20 years of the sci-fi drama’s rebooted iteration.
First airing on BBC One on March 26 2005, Doctor Who returned to screens after an absence of 16 years, introducing Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor, and Billie Piper as companion Rose Tyler.
The rest, as they say, is history – and Doctor Who recently wrapped up its most recent series, with Ncuti Gatwa stepping down as the Fifteenth Doctor during a surprise regeneration.
Looking back over 20 years of filming in Cardiff, last night’s Unleashed paid tribute to Doctors and companions past.
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However, many fans were disappointed by one particularly glaring omission – namely, the curious absence of Clara Oswald, as played by Jenna Coleman.
Clara was initially introduced as a companion to the Eleventh Doctor, as played by Matt Smith.
First appearing in the Series Seven episode Asylum of the Daleks in 2012, Jenna’s enigmatic appearance (playing one of three different people who shared a similar name, but the same face) turned into a full-time companionship under the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi).
Clara departed the TARDIS in Series 9, with the 2015 finale Hell Bent being her last in a starring role. However, she did return for the Twelfth Doctor’s final episode, showing up for a cameo in the 2017 Christmas special, Twice Upon A Time.
As such, Clara is one of the rebooted Doctor’s longer-serving companions… making her absence from this week’s celebration seem particularly odd.
‘I’m in utter disbelief over how little time was dedicated to the 12th Doctor’s era in the new Unleashed ep, only a little under 2 minutes in an hour long special,’ wrote DWfigurephotos on X.
The user continued: ‘The episode ‘Blink’ alone got more time dedicated to it than Peter’s entire run! 🤦♂️ Also no Clara AT ALL?!’
‘I know the Doctor temporarily lost all his memories of Clara, but it seems that the makers of Doctor Who Unleashed have forgotten about her completely,’ said MrDavidEBrown.
‘Is it just me or is it odd that the #DoctorWho Unleashed 20th Anniversary Special didn’t even mention Clara. It just skipped over her completely. I can understand if Jenna Coleman wasn’t available, but to not even mention or show the character seems really strange,’ commented JovialVulcan.
‘The whole time when Jenna Coleman played Clara, was skipped over. Her name not mentioned & only a glimpse of her from the distance in a scene from ‘Deep Breath’. I wonder why that was?’ said PayneNotes1.
Also missing from the line-up was Series 3 and 4 companion Martha Jones, as played by Freema Agyeman. Surprisingly, Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday didn’t rate a mention either, although she did appear in the background during an interview with Ncuti and Varada Sethu.
Former companions who were included in this love letter to Cardiff-era Who included Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who played Amy and Rory Pond during Matt Smith’s run on the show.
Representing Peter’s time, Pearl Mackie also addressed her time as Bill Potts, while Jodie Whittaker’s TARDIS-mate Mandip Gill provided some insight of her own.
Catherine Tate may not have appeared in an interview, but showrunner Russell T Davies and the documentary did at least acknowledge her existence.
Meanwhile, as the most recent companion, Varada joined Ncuti on the red carpet to discuss their stints on the show.
As perhaps the Doctor’s most well-known companion, Billie Piper joined David Tennant as they reflected on their time in the TARDIS together.
Both have returned to the show since their exit, with David starring in three special episodes last year after (re)regenerating from Jodie’s much-maligned Thirteenth Doctor.
His three-episode return culminated in the show’s first bi-generation – heralding the arrival of Ncuti Gatwa as the show’s Fifteenth Doctor.
In shocking scenes during this month’s series finale, Ncuti stepped down from the show after only two seasons – apparently regenerating into Billie Piper as the episode ended.
Whether Billie is actually the Doctor remains to be seen, but her return to the show has left fans worried for its future.
Amid rumours that David Tennant might come back (again!) some have suggested that the show is ‘running out of ideas’ and coasting on its past.
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