Jenna Coleman has revealed why she changed her mind about leaving Doctor Who.

The actress was originally set to bow out as Clara Oswald in the finale of Series 8 before returning for the Christmas Special, at the end of which she stepped back aboard the TARDIS once again for adventures anew.

“My contract ended but I wanted a bit more time to explore Clara’s relationship with the new Doctor,” she told Observer Magazine. “I couldn’t leave it after one series.”

She continued: “Peter and I are great buddies behind the scenes. He is like the Gandalf of Doctor Who. He seems to have this mythical quality about him. So it wasn’t time to leave.”

Steven Moffat, who has also admitted that he “never wanted her to go”, recently teased that a “complicated” journey awaits Clara in the new episodes, which will see her become the longest serving companion of the revived series. “I’ve been picking up the scripts for a sniff of where things are heading,” Jenna said. “But the story goes in a different direction!”

Filming for Series 9 is currently underway. It’s scheduled to air on BBC One in the autumn.