Danny Pink In The Tardis????

Danny Pink is billed as a recurring character but will he be travelling in the Tardis?

Some aspects of Doctor Who’s reboot season eight, starring Peter Capaldi, are becoming clear. And today we’ve learnt about a new character we’ll meet – Danny Pink played by Samuel Anderson.
So what do we know so far? The BBC have revealed a picture of Danny and apparently he’s a fellow teacher who will be joining companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and the Doctor on their travels.
Is he a full companion? Unknown. The term that seems to be popular is that he is a recurring character. There’s a fine tradition of that in Who. The fan favourite is surely the Brigadier who was a stalwart in the classic series alongside a number of Doctors.
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I wonder if Pink is Clara’s new squeeze? Here’s hoping not. We had quite enough of that (and hanky panky in the Tardis) with Amy and Rory. And actually sometimes those three-hand stories with the Doctor could be a bit claggy. And thinking back to Tennant and Eccleston: when Rose brought Mickey along it did sometimes spoil the fun.
There’s no doubt that the Doctor Who dynamic with a companion is at its most lively when it’s him and one companion. And that’s usually a woman. The presence of Mr A.N. Other does sometimes get in the way of a fast-paced adventure.

And what is it about Coal Hill School in East London, Shoreditch to be precise, that keeps bringing the Doctor back? It was a cute hat-tip in the Day of the Doctor that Clara should be teaching there but now it seems like the Moff, who never does anything just for the fun of it, has a purpose.

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Coal Hill was where it all began when teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton were baffled by that unearthly child Susan Foreman (the Doctor’s granddaughter) all the way back in 1963 and episode one. Fearful of being exposed, he kidnapped them both and so began Doctor Who.
And the Doctor has returned to the school at least once. In Remembrance of the Daleks in 1988 it served as base for those dastardly foes from Skaro. And in the 1986 Colin Baker adventure, the sixth Doctor landed not so far away at the junkyard of I. M. Foreman at 76 Totter’s Lane. That was where the first Doctor originally concealed the Tardis.

Coal Hill school is part of Doctor Who’s mythology (Picture: BBC)

So Steven Moffat is quite clearly plugging himself into the original Doctor Who myth with this one. And with a whole new cycle of lives, once again he will be traveling through the universe with two teachers from Coal Hill School in tow.
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And there must be more to it than that? In the original series Barbara Wright taught history there, just like Clara does. Ian Chesterton taught science, I wonder if Danny Pink does too?
And is there the prospect of an old face returning too? One I. Chesterton was noted as the Chair of Governors at Coal Hill in The Day of the Doctor. It would be wonderful to see William Russell reprise his role