There will be tears when Karen Gillan bows out of Doctor Whoin an adventure that sees her come face to face with the weeping angels in New York.
The star, who plays the Timelord's sidekick Amy Pond, will leave in the fifth episode of the new series along with on-screen husband Rory, played by Arthur Darvill, after a showdown with the sinister, silent aliens.
Karen said: "I always knew that Steven had an ending for Amy Pond and when I met with him a year or so ago it was kind of like, so what are the plans for the character and we both said that she should go at this point. It was such a fantastic mutual decision and completely the right time for Amy to leave. I will miss her, but I can't wait for fans to see what happens."
Karen Gillan at a screening for the new series Tuesday night
She will be replaced by Jenna-Louise Coleman who is set to play the doctor's new companion alongside Matt Smith.
Matt said: "We knew it was coming, but just didn't believe it. It is one of those things like when you are on holiday and you suddenly realise it is Friday and you are going home on Monday. But that is what the show is about, evolution and regeneration, and we now have Jenna who is lovely and great."
Despite the sadness, the actor said he enjoyed filming Karen's last scenes.
He said: "I am such a fan of New York, and we got to use some properly iconic locations, like Central Park. There is nothing quite like running through Times Square trying to shoot a scene."
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill during a photocall for a screening of Asylum of the Daleks
Show supremo Steven Moffat admitted it would be difficult to imagine the programme without the pair who have become "part of the landscape for me".
He said: "It was just traumatic to consider a future without them. Amy is everything I admired, and sometimes feared, about strong, clever, reckless women, and Rory is the man I'd like to be - so strong he never has to show it."
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