Pearl Mackie Confirms 'Doctor Who' Exit As Assistant Bill Potts

She'll be back for the Christmas special, though.
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Pearl Mackie has confirmed speculation she is leaving ‘Doctor Who’

The actress, who plays the current assistant on the BBC sci-fi series, will make her last appearance as Bill Potts during this year’s Christmas special after just one series. 

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Pearl Mackie is leaving 'Doctor Who' after just one series
BBC

Revealing she will not be back for series 11 when Jodie Whittaker takes over from Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Peal said at San Diego Comic-Con: “No, that’s it – Christmas special, last chance to see Bill. But, I mean, hey, it’s ‘Doctor Who’, so never say never!”

Pearl only joined the series last year, and paying tribute to her character, she added (via Digital Spy): “What was really special to me about Bill was that she’s so real. There’s so many different elements to her.

“She’s very quick-witted and she’s very inquisitive – there’s a childlike curiosity to her as well, which I think is great, because who wants to grow up?”

This year’s Christmas special will be called ‘Twice Upon A Time’, and will see the current incarnation of the Doctor team up with the First Doctor, who is portrayed by David Bradley.

A new trailer was revealed on Sunday (23 July), which also showed Mark Gatiss as a character known as The Captain.

The episode will also see Peter’s Doctor regenerate into their newest form, played by Jodie, while it has also been rumoured former companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) will make an appearance.

The special also serves as executive producer Steven Moffat’s swansong, as he is being succeeded in the role by ‘Broadchurch’ creator Chris Chibnall. 

Meanwhile, Kris Marshall has been named as the frontrunner to be the latest companion, after missing out on the lead role to Jodie. 

'Doctor Who' Celebrity Appearances
Anne Robinson(01 of11)
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Anne voiced a robot version of herself, the hillarious Anne Droid, in the episode 'Bad Wolf'. The Anne Droid fronts a dystopian version of 'The Weakest Link', who obliterates contestants with a laser, rather than the 21st century Anne's acidic putdowns.The episode also saw Davina McCall playing a Davinadroid, who hosted a futuristic version of 'Big Brother' (we suppose that would be an Emmadroid now...). (credit:BBC)
Peter Kay(02 of11)
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Beneath those alarming prosthetics sits Peter Kay, who went all out for his appearance in the episode 'Love & Monsters'.The Northern comedian played The Abzorbaloff, who masqueraded as a human being, in an episode in which The Doctor and his companion featured only briefly.We suppose if you'd splashed out on that costume you'd want it to be seen as much as possible... (credit:BBC)
Kylie Minogue(03 of11)
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Kylie played Astrid Peth, companion to David Tennant's Doctor in the 2007 Christmas special, 'Voyage Of The Damned'.She received a mixed reception for the part, which was created especially for her by producer Russell T Davies, with most of the action taking place on a re-imagined futuristic Titanic.Good boots, too. (credit:WENN)
David Walliams(04 of11)
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Another British comedian who underwent quite the makeover for his 'Who' role.David played the Gibbis in the episode 'The God Complex', a rodent-like alien who encounters Matt Smith's Doctor when he crash-lands in what appears to be an 80s hotel.And you thought 'The Shining' was weird... (credit:BBC)
Suranne Jones(05 of11)
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Suranne had the honour of playing a new incarnation of a 'Doctor Who' staple in 2011, when she took on the role of a humanoid version of the TARDIS.In 'The Doctor's Wife', Surrane plays Idris, a human who takes on the personality of the TARDIS, with Michael Sheen also making a voice appearance in the episode. (credit:BBC)
James Corden(06 of11)
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James played The Doctor's temporary housemate, Craig Owens, in the episode 'The Lodger', which sees The Doctor stranded on Earth, and forced to fit in with everyday humans.He reprised the role in the following series, during which he's married to Sophie (Daisy Haggard), who Matt Smith's Doctor helped him get together with, and they have a baby son. (credit:BBC)
Olivia Colman(07 of11)
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Olivia's 'Doctor Who' role was a fairly ordinary one... oh, unless you count those terrifying gnashers, that is. (credit:BBC)
Keeley Hawes(08 of11)
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Like several guest stars before her, Keeley's appearance in the last series of 'Doctor Who' was only meant to be a one-off stint.However, her appearance as the villainous Ms Delphox was so well-received by Whovians that they can look forward to her reprising the role in the latest series. (credit:BBC)
Derek Acorah(09 of11)
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In a rare moment of self-awareness from Derek Acorah, he appeared in a brief cameo role during the episode 'Army Of Ghosts', joking that he'd no longer be of use once ghosts began to roam the earth.It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance on a TV screen, but we enjoyed it nontheless. (credit:BBC)
Catherine Tate(10 of11)
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Viewers were so taken with Catherine Tate's portrayal of Donna Noble that she eventually wound up as the Doctor's companion, and went on to become one of the most popular characters of the modern era of 'Doctor Who'. (credit:BBC)
Peter Capaldi(11 of11)
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Does he look a bit familiar to you?Long before he was cast as the Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi made an appearance during David Tennant's time as Time Lord, playing Caecillius in an episode set in ancient Pompeii. (credit:BBC)