Doctor Who Season 10: Meet New Companion Bill Potts

Meet Bill Potts, the new companion for Doctor Who season 10!

Doctor Who is set to premiere April 15 at 9:00pm ET/PT on BBC America. A behind-the-scenes video was posted by the BBC earlier today, and now we’ve got a slew of new pictures from the premiere, “The Pilot,” which you can check out on the gallery below. The cast also did interviews for the BBC and spoke about new companion Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie). Here’s what they had to say about the newest resident of the TARDIS.

RELATED: New Doctor Who Season 10 Behind-the-Scenes Video

Mackie, who said she meeting star Peter Capaldi at her audition was “mental,” talked about who Bill Potts is. She said, “Bill is cool – she’s quite young, doesn’t really know much about the world. She’s very real – she’s not had a very easy upbringing and whilst she doesn’t really let that affect her day-to-day life, it’s there under the surface – she can be quite defensive. She’s fun, she’s excited, she’s a bit geeky – she quite likes sci-fi stuff, she’s into space and that type of thing so when she does go on adventures with the Doctor and discovers aliens are real and that kind of stuff it blows her mind which is really cool.”

Capaldi talked about Bill Potts as a companion. “Bill comes in very much as a regular human being from the real world to whom all of this stuff is extraordinary.  She knows nothing about it. But she’s a very clever, bright, funny girl. I think the Doctor is very taken with her as she’s one of those people who life hasn’t been great to and she didn’t deserve life not to be kind to her. She has enormous potential and I think the Doctor wants to help her reach that potential.”

Mackie said of their relationship, “It’s quite interesting at the beginning – their relationship is very much tutor/student. It has an ‘Educating Rita’ vibe about it at the beginning when they first meet each other. There’s a definite fasciation for Bill in terms of the Doctor – she’s really interested in the way his mind works – he’s supposed to be doing a lecture on science and ends up talking about poetry and he says they’re the same thing.”

Capaldi explained the Doctor’s side, saying, “I think initially he takes her under his wing in order to teach her – to literally improve her mind, but in quite a terrestrial way. Through that she becomes involved in his extra-terrestrial adventures and the expansion of her mind becomes quite extraordinary. It’s a kind of teacher-pupil relationship but it becomes more complex than that and I think ultimately the Doctor has to undergo some dramas by himself so I think he becomes slightly worried that he’s swept someone else up into his adventures without quite preparing them.”

Matt Lucas, who plays Nardole, spoke about his character’s relationship with Bill Potts. He said, “As the series goes on, I think Bill and Nardole find they have more in common and challenge the Doctor more. Nardole grows to appreciate Bill and what she brings to the TARDIS. The Doctor has grown weary of Nardole but as the series goes on, I think he comes to appreciate what he has to offer.”

Are you guys excited for the return of Doctor Who? Are you ready to meet Bill Potts? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.