It looks like the children of Coal Hill School will be without their best English teacher in new Doctor Who spin-off Class – because despite fan hopes, Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald will have no part in the series.


Speaking on Twitter, Class writer/creator Patrick Ness attempted to clear up a few misconceptions about what the new BBC Three series will entail, including Coleman’s absence from the series:

So, going to bed, but:

1. Not the casting director, sorry.

2. Yes, it will definitely air in America.

3. No, no Clara.

4. That's it for now. — Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) October 1, 2015

We have to admit, we’re a bit gutted. It was a bit of a long shot, but we couldn’t help but hope the appearance of Clara’s workplace in a whole new TV series might mean we’d see Jenna Coleman back in the Whoniverse after her Doctor Who departure this series. What could her fate be to remove her from her job altogether?

Young adult (YA) author Ness also addressed the tone of the new series, which he indicated would be darker than fans might expect considering the school setting and young characters. In fact, he makes it sound positively deadly:

But truly, I am thrilled and amazed at this. I've got some evil, evil stories I can't wait to tell… — Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) October 1, 2015

One last thing, getting a few queries about "YA = light". Ha ha. Hahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Yeah, no. — Patrick Ness (@Patrick_Ness) October 1, 2015


On second thoughts, maybe it’s good that Clara isn’t going to be around – it sounds like Coal Hill School isn’t going to be a particularly safe place when 2016 rolls around…