Doctor Who fans hoping to get a peek at familiar faces in the new spin-off series Class are out of luck: writer Patrick Ness recently told the Radio Times that the series probably won't feature any actors already seen in the Who universe.
For Who fans, this news might prove surprising, considering that the setting of Class is Coal Hill School, a place already important for many existing Doctor Who characters, including Courtney Woods (Ellis George) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Louise-Coleman). The school was also a popular setting in classic episodes of Doctor Who and served as the place where both Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) first met the First Doctor's granddaughter, Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford).
However, none of these characters will have appearances in the new spin-off series, at least according to Ness.
"The main character is someone brand-new," said Ness. "There's lots and lots and lots of brand-new. Because that's what I want to see. I want to see somebody come up with something new."
A similar spin-off show, The Sarah Jane Adventures, had a former Doctor's companion, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), as its lead, but it seems that with Class, the focus is on all-new characters.
However, what's a Doctor Who spin-off series without the Doctor? Will he appear on the series in any form? Most recently on the original series, the Doctor appeared as a grumpy Scottish caretaker at the school. Will 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi's distinctive face show up?
"I can neither yet confirm nor deny," said Ness. "But I'm a big Peter Capaldi fan, let's put it that way. "It's funny—I'm not gonna answer that question. I've already started ignoring the sort of baiting, trolling tweets of 'We've heard this!' and 'my sources say!' "
Ness, who wrote the Doctor Who spin-off novels that the new series finds its inspiration from, also won't give out details of Class' plot. Stating that he wished he could divulge more information, but that "it's too early for details," Ness still promises that Doctor Who fans should find the series exciting.
For now, all fans have is speculation, although it's likely that villains familiar to the Doctor Who universe will turn up on Class. The series is about aliens, after all, and what better aliens are there than those we already know? Of course, it's likely that new species not yet encountered in Who will also show up. Finally, the BBC promises action similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer on its new series.
Class airs on BBC 3 and possibly BBC America in 2016.
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