Spoilers. Steven Moffat has been chatting about the fate of Doctor Who companions – and why it’s wrong they should die in active duty.

In his run on the show, Steven Moffat has certainly put Doctor Who companions through the proverbial grinder. But not since Adric in 1982’s Earthshock has one of the Doctor’s companions died in the course of their duty. And, says Steven Moffat, that’s a good and deliberate thing.

Notwithstanding the fact that Amy and Rory did eventually die, albeit of old age, he told Doctor Who Magazine that “it’s wrong for Doctor Who”.

“I’m not even crazy about it when they did it with Adric. I don’t think that’s the story”, he said. “I’m sorry, it’s a children’s programme. And explicitly, the companions are like Doctor Who’s children. Or his grandchildren. They’re in his care, and lovely old Doctor Who is opening the TARDIS doors and saying ‘I will always look after you’”.

“Get it right – that’s the story”, he insisted. “It’s not the mean-spirited kind of story where you’ve proved the ‘grittiness’ of real life. It’s not real life – it’s Doctor Who”.

Thus, whilst Clara, Amy, Rory, Rose et al may have had tough times, there’s a reason none of them died young. It remains to be seen if Chris Chibnall will continue with the same ethos. We suspect he will.

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