Goodbye Clara Oswald

It's been confirmed that Jenna Coleman is leaving Doctor Who. It's not completely a surprise.
Even before the Daily Mirror leaked the news earlier this week, we'd known that she'd
considered leaving last year. The appearance of River Song at Christmas also seemed to hint at this. Who better than an old friend to help the lonely Doctor in his time of need?I haven't even mentioned yet all the teases in the Series 9 promo material about how the series would be  'glory years' of the Doctor and Clara,  All  very reminiscent of how Tennant's Doctor and Rose were said to be having the time of their lives before their separation in Doomsday. No one is irreplaceable, and Jenna has been in the show a great deal longer than any of the other modern companions. It's probably a good time for to leave on a high and pursue bigger and better things. Really, we fans have been privileged to have this brilliant actor as a lead for so long.

Jenna made a great impact during her first appearance as Oswin Oswald, making a temporary character lovable to the point where you were sad when she turned out to be a converted Dalek. You just wished she could have gone with the Doctor at the end of the tale. Of course Jenna's returned later that year in The Snowmen as the Victorian nanny version of Clara. She proved that she was versatile enough to play roles from different periods.

Her rise to full time companion status in 2013, as the modern Clara Oswald  suffered a bit. The character seemed very vague, as if the production team wanted to keep the mystery going, but Jenna still did her best in the role. The character was thankfully reinvented as a headstrong schoolteacher for The Day of the Doctor, and the character of Clara grew in my estimation.

Jenna may be leaving but she has left behind a legacy of television, comic books and even had herself remade as a Lego character!She also had the special status of being the companion for the 50th anniversary of the show and having the small but crucial role of dissuading the Doctor from destroying Gallifrey.

It's been fun but it's not over yet. We've got a whole series of Clara left to enjoy before the end. She may even have a minor cameo in the upcoming Christmas Special, like Danny Pink in Last Christmas. No doubt there'll be a lot of teasing within the show as to the nature of her departure.  Lets hope that these 'glory years' truly are glorious!