“There’s never been a male / male combination – you’d probably get fan fiction going crazy!”

Mark Gatiss has had his say on Doctor Who’s next companion – and he wants the long-running sci-fi series to “mix it up a bit”.
Gatiss – who has written this Saturday’s episode, ‘Sleep No More’ – told press including Digital Spy that he’d like the show to divert from the “younger female companion”.
“It’s not in my hands but I think it would be really interesting to mix it up a bit,” he said. “There’s never been a male / male combination – I think that would be quite interesting. You’d probably get fan fiction going crazy!

“To be honest, nobody knows anything – that’s the truth. There was this hard and fast rule about what the companions always had to be – in traditional sexist terms, ‘something for the dads’ – and then Catherine Tate came in.
“Here was the first companion who was actually older than the Doctor – in real life – with a very different style… and everyone loved it. So you can never tell.
“If you found a companion who is not at all what you think you might be looking for, but there’s an immediate spark [with their co-star], then the audience will respond to that.”

Gatiss also reiterated his support for a female Doctor, and a black Doctor, “but only when the right person comes along”.”I absolutely think there should be a female Doctor, there should be a black Doctor… but not because anyone’s trying to tick a box,” he said. “I suppose the same goes for companions – you just find the right person.”
Jenna Coleman, who plays Clara, will exit Doctor Who this series, with showrunner Steven Moffat insisting that the next companion will be a new character and not an established favourite like Osgood (Ingrid Oliver).