Steven Moffat has discussed the possibility of the next Doctor Who companion departing from the formula of being a young female from present day Earth.

Speaking at the RTS Doctor Who: Anatomy Of A Hit event, Moffat commented: “As to changing it up with the companion, we actually have changed it up quite a lot, look how different those girls have been. Wait and see.”

Season 9 begins filming in January and it is currently unknown if Jenna Coleman will be returning after this year’s Christmas special.

The showrunner explained: “What we have is probably the most enduring form of the show and I think will always tend back to it for whatever reason, but there’s no reason you couldn’t tend away from it and there’s no diktat or special rule book left by Verity Lambert or something.”

He also hinted: “We absolutely could vary it. The times they’ve varied it, it makes them work hard – you can see them struggling with Leela. She was a great character but they had to civilise her fast because it was getting hard to fit her into stories – but it’s not a hard and fast rule at all.”

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Where and when would you like the next companion to come from? Let us know below…