Steven Moffat explains why his Doctor Who companions meet tragic ends

The latest victim of this was Nicola Coughlan's Joy, who appeared in the recent Moffat-penned Christmas special Joy to the World and joined the likes of Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) and Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) in suffering a sad (albeit bittersweet) end.

But it turns out the former showrunner has a very good reason for continuing to write such definitive exits for his characters, as he explained in a recent interview with Cinema Blend.

"In general terms, in the modern show we've always, and Russell [T Davies]'s done this too, [tried] to work out why they aren't seeing the Doctor anymore," he said.

"In the old show they used to say, 'I'm not gonna travel with you.' Yeah. What? You're never gonna come around for dinner? I mean, what's the matter with you? You have to have a reason that they have the parting of the ways, you might say."

So there you have it, Moffat isn't being cruel to his characters just for the sake of it!

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Joy was introduced in the special as a guest at the Time Hotel, where the Doctor was staying in the year 4202, and ended the episode sacrificing herself to become the Star of Bethlehem – quite a journey for her given she had previously expressed her disdain for Christmas.

And while it was undoubtedly a sad ending for her in many ways, Moffat explained that he also thinks it represents a "wonderful story" for the character.

"It occurred to me that Joy going from the woman who avoids Christmas to the star that creates Christmas, it would be such a wonderful story for her," he said.

"All that love trapped inside her that she's trying to deny suddenly spills out all over the universe. That just seems like a lovely way to... not to go out with a bang. She doesn't go out the bang. She shines, she shines."

Doctor Who will return for season 15 in 2025. Previous seasons are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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