Doctor Who: 10 Actresses Who Could Replace Jenna Coleman
2. Zawe Ashton
Why she should be next: As mentioned before, Series 8 often felt like it was trying out new companions. Another role that fitted this description was Zawe Ashtons turn as Journey Blue, the human soldier the Doctor saved from being blown up by the Daleks and who joined him on the trip inside one of his mortal enemies. Ashton brought depth to the character, who even wanted to join the Doctor on his journeys (no pun intended), and made a lot of fans wish he had said yes. Theres a lot of potential for Journey Blue being the next companion. Shes a soldier, which could mean a lot of challenges towards the Doctors attitude towards them, as well as a lot of conflict between the lead pair as they come to accept each other. This would help to make the start of Series 9 - or whichever series she would actually join on for - gripping and engaging. Furthermore, the Doctor said no to her previous request to join them, so anything happening to change that could lead to some interesting stories. Shed be following in the footsteps of the previous four female companions in appearing in the show before becoming a full time TARDIS resident. According to IMDB, she has very few projects coming up, suggesting that she would have the time to commit to the intense filming schedule that Doctor Who requires. Why she shouldnt be: Journeys request to join the TARDIS crew was one of the worst parts of Into the Dalek, as it was barely set up during the story itself. Mostly, it felt forced to allow the Twelfth Doctor to express a distaste for soldiers that would be a key part of his character through the Series 8 arc. While both future writing and Ashtons performances could lift the character above this, it would be a cause for concern that the character had gotten off to such a shaky start. Theres also an argument to be made that the aspect of Ashtons performance that most sold Journey as a future companion was the chemistry that she had with Jenna Coleman towards the conclusion. They had a really interesting dynamic between them that implied they would work really well together on a more permanent basis. This would suggest that Ashton might not be the best choice to replace Coleman - instead, itd be better if she worked alongside her.
