Moffat on Paternoster Return, Clara’s Original Exit

Steven Moffat has said he is hesitant on bringing the Paternoster Gang back for another appearance.

Moffat explains in DWM #484

: “I’m always slightly worried that you can’t keep repeating the joke. And there’s always talk of the spin-off, and the Beeb would do it in a heartbeat… but… I dunno. The moment you start relying on something, you should probably throw it away. I always kind of feel that nothing should stay in the Doctor’s life. You can have River for a few years, but then River has to go.”

Moffat also confirmed the rumours of Clara’s original planned exit last year: “I originally wrote her out in Death in Heaven. That was her last episode. And then she asked me if she could be in Christmas. So I said, ‘OK, I’ll write you out in Christmas’. She came to the read through and did the ‘write out’ version – and again changed her mind.”

He adds: “But the truth is I never wanted her to go. I didn’t really want Death in Heaven to be her last episode. And with Last Christmas, I’d already written the alternative version where she stayed, and I preferred that version. Frankly, I didn’t want to lose her. She’s an amazing actress, and she never stops working to make Clara better. I was very happy to go the extra mile to make sure we could keep her.”