Pearl Mackie "almost ran away" from her ‘Doctor Who’ audition.
The 29-year-old actress plays Bill Potts – the Doctor’s latest companion – in the new series of the iconic sci-fi series, but Pearl has admitted she nearly spurned the biggest opportunity of her career because she was so anxious.
She told the Radio Times: "Just walking through the foyer was nerve-racking.
"I rocked up in my Afro and bright yellow trainers and a baggy T-shirt into this big glossy octagon foyer and they told me to wait in a room till they were ready for me … I almost ran away."
Pearl’s on-screen character is, in fact, the Time Lord’s first openly gay companion on the show.
And ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner Steven Moffat recently admitted that a character like Bill has been "too long coming".
He explained: "I think people would say, ‘Why the hell did you not get around to it earlier?’ – and I would absolutely agree with them."
Steven said Bill’s sexuality is "not a major plot strand" in the show and he also admitted he was surprised by the amount of attention it had attracted.
Steven said: "This wasn’t, as some people thought, some kind of press release we made – it was just mentioned by Pearl in an interview. I didn’t even know it was happening. I saw it on the internet!
"It’s not a major plot strand. It’s not even a minor plot strand. It’s just there. She’s not ‘the gay companion’ – she’s Bill Potts. She barely bothers to mention the fact. It only comes up when it’s relevant."
Steven, 55, also said it’s important to not make a big deal out of Bill being gay.
He reflected: "It’s important that we don’t make a fuss about this in a children’s show which talks directly to them.
"We don’t young children who are boring and normal and happen to fancy their own gender, we don’t want to make them feel as though they’re some kind of special case because that’s frightening."
Pearl Mackie ‘almost ran away’ from Doctor Who audition
