'Doctor Who' series 9: Who will join the Doctor and Clara's journey in new episodes?

Whovians can now take a breath of relief after series showrunner Steven Moffat confirmed that Jenna Coleman will be staying as Clara for the entire duration of "Dr. Who" season 9.

According to Moffat, "Jenna is in all of the next series, which we're delighted to reveal ... There was a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing, wasn't there Jenna? I always think I'm quite good at winding up people on this but Jenna completely outplayed me when she said in an interview 'I'm not telling you if I'm staying or going because it's just more exciting.' And it occurred to us all that we don't start shooting until January so we could actually keep it a secret." 

But after the special Christmas episode, fans are now clamoring for an additional companion for all of the journeys of Dr. Who (Peter Capaldi) and Clara. Will Atkinson, a guest contributor for the Doctor Who TV website, mentioned in an article that some fans are looking forward to finding another character in the show.

Atkinson suggests Osgood, noting that the character is "both funny and smart," except that she's already dead. If it's not possible to bring her back, then he thinks Orson Pink would be a good option since he had saved Dr. Who's life before and has already travelled in the TARDIS. The writer also said that the other characters who could possibly return in the long-running show's series 9 include Psi and Saibra, who were both featured in "Time Heist," as well as Journey Blue from "Into the Dalek." They are considered as light and fun characters, which the fans enjoyed seeing. But Atkinsons particularly would like to see the characters of Ashley and Shona back in the series, after they made stellar performances during the past Christmas episode.

"Dr. Who" series 9 will start filming in early January 2015.