page_title: Clara Oswald
section_title: Casting and development
hierarchical_section_title: Clara Oswald / Casting and development
caption_attribution_description: Doctor Who crew at the 72nd Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon Waldorf-Astoria Hotel/ May 20, 2013/ANDERS KRUSBERG / PEABODY AWARDS
context_page_description: Clara Oswald is a fictional character created by Steven Moffat and portrayed by Jenna Coleman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First appearing in the show's seventh series, Clara served as a companion of the alien time traveller known as the Doctor in his eleventh and twelfth incarnations. She remains the longest serving companion since the show's revival in 2005.
  Clara is initially presented to the audience during the seventh series as three distinct, though similarly named, people living in different eras. The first two incarnations, Oswin Oswald and Clara Oswin Oswald, each die during the episode in which they appear. The third incarnation becomes the Doctor's companion, travelling with him for the remainder of the series as he tries to uncover the mystery of her multiple lives. She continues to travel with the Doctor after the mystery is resolved at the end of the series, witnessing him regenerate into his twelfth incarnation in "The Time of the Doctor". The pair have various adventures together in the eighth and ninth series until she departs the show in "Hell Bent". She reappears briefly in the Christmas special "Twice Upon a Time".
context_section_description: On 21 March 2012, it was announced that Jenna Coleman would replace Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as the next companion. She auditioned for the role in secrecy, pretending it was for something called Men on Waves, an anagram for "Woman Seven". Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat chose her for the role because she worked the best alongside Smith and could talk faster than he did. Coleman had never seen Doctor Who before her audition, and watched "The Eleventh Hour" (2010) and "completely fell in love with the show". However, she only watched the first five episodes of the seventh series – the final five featuring Gillan and Darvill – because she did not want to learn more about their relationship to the Doctor, as she wanted her acting alongside Smith to be "spontaneous". Moffat stated that her character is different from previous companions, though he attempted to keep the details of her character a secret until she debuted in the Christmas special. In "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012), Coleman appears as the character Oswin Oswald, a secret which was kept from the public before transmission. Coleman was originally given the role of a Victorian governess named Jasmine, and then for the second audition she was given both the characters of Oswin and Clara. She originally thought that the producers were looking for the right character, but later realised it was part of Moffat's "soft mystery" plan. Neil Gaiman (writer of "Nightmare in Silver", 2013) revealed that the character was originally intended to stay as a Victorian governess. Coleman stated that Moffat came up with the mystery during the audition process. Coleman played each version of the character as individuals with "trust that there would be a payoff" to her mystery. Moffat told Neil Cross, who wrote "Hide" (2013), the first episode Coleman filmed as the new companion, that Clara was "a normal girl".
  Moffat felt that the introduction of a new companion made "the show feel different" and brought the story to "a new beginning" with a different person meeting the Doctor. Executive producer Caroline Skinner remarked that her introduction allowed the series to return to a more "classic Doctor Who format". Smith said that Clara was different from her predecessor Amy Pond (Gillan), which allowed the audience to see a different side of the Doctor. Moffat said that Coleman brings "a speed and wit and an unimpressed quality that makes the Doctor dance a bit harder". Coleman stated that her character "holds her own" and was competitive with the Doctor, providing "a nice double act". With her place in the series' narrative, Clara was intended to reawaken the Doctor's "curiosity in the universe and gives him his mojo back". Concerning Clara's relationship to the Doctor, Coleman said, "It's been interesting how it's changed Matt's Doctor. There is a natural bounce between them, and a flirtation, and attraction. But, again, they've always got this friction because they're a bit magnetic and drawn to each other, but she can't quite figure him out. He's got loads of secrets and he's always looking at her, trying to figure her out." The dynamic between Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy was an influence on Coleman and Smith. In addition, Coleman revealed that Clara and the TARDIS have a "relationship", as there is a running joke about the TARDIS (previously established in the series as being sentient) not liking Clara or making fun of her.
  Many fans and critics noticed similarities between Clara and Billie Piper's Rose Tyler. Clara helps the Doctor recover at a dark point in his life, as Rose does during a much darker time; both companions lose a parent; each has a close relationship with the Doctor, who sees part of their childhood. The Doctor does the same thing to Clara in "The Time of the Doctor" (2013) as he does to Rose in "The Parting of the Ways" (2005) by sending her back home to keep her safe.
  It was widely expected that Coleman would leave the show at the end of 2014. Moffat has confirmed in numerous interviews that he wrote the character out twice — once f
caption: Jenna Coleman plays Clara.
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