No more time travel as Karen quits Doctor Who

The 24-year-old star, who has played Amy Pond since 2010, will leave in a “heartbreaking” storyline in the next series, executive producer Steven Moffat revealed.

A brand new companion for the Doctor is being lined up for the new series, which is due to air next autumn, but the show’s producers said they would give no clues about their identity.

Gillan and her screen husband Arthur Darvill, who plays Rory, will both be written out, explained Moffat, who was speaking at a special screening of the show’s Christmas Day episode.

The Inverness-born actress, who left school at 16 to study at Edinburgh’s Telford College, has had a starring role for the past two series and become hugely popular with fans.

Moffat said: “The final days of the Ponds are coming. It’s during the next series. I’m not telling you when and I’m not telling you how, but that story is going to be a heartbreaking one.”

Moffat said the Doctor would meet “a new friend”, although it is thought the part has not yet been cast. He added: “I’m not going to tell you anything about he, she or it.”

Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor, said he would miss his co-star, who joined the show at the same time he did. “We had the most incredible journey. We took over the show and we really had to hold hands and help each other through it,” he said.