"Cool, strong, sharp, a little bit vulnerable with a bit of geekiness thrown in." If Pearl Mackie's new Doctor Who companion Bill lives up to the actor's initial description, fans should be happy because that sounds to us like the ideal person to travel with the Doctor and to connect with viewers.

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It's early days of course, but we'd even say there's a suggestion of most of the attributes she mentions in the first clip we've seen of Bill in action...

Introducing…
The #NewCompanion!!!#DoctorWhohttps://t.co/rkuSXbGbZb

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) April 23, 2016

“I'm incredibly excited to be joining the Doctor Who family," said Mackie after being unveiled to the world alongside Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor on BBC1 on Saturday. "It's such an extraordinary British institution, I couldn't be prouder to call the TARDIS my home!"

She added that filming the trailer, in which Bill meets Daleks for the first time, had been "mental" but that her background in stage combat would stand her in good stead against Who's many monsters.

"I always loved stage combat at drama school so I can't wait to get on set and kick some evil monsters into the next dimension!

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"Shooting the trailer was absolutely mental, there were pyrotechnics and smoke and I met my first Dalek! I'm not sure it will ever become ‘the norm’ seeing crazy monsters on set, but I cannot wait to meet some more! The weirder the better, bring it on!”

Mackie added that had become a big fan of her new character as soon as she saw her first Doctor Who script.

"Reading the script at the audition I thought Bill was wicked. Fantastically written, cool, strong, sharp, a little bit vulnerable with a bit of geekiness thrown in – I can't wait to bring her to life, and to see how she develops through the series."

And, of course, she had positive things to say too about her new partner in time...

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"Peter Capaldi is such a brilliant actor, and his Doctor is such a wacky and wonderful character, I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for him and Bill throughout time and space."

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