Jenna Louise-Coleman
Jenna Louise-Coleman will be the new companion in 'Doctor Who.' Reuters

'Doctor Who' has found his newest companion in 25 year old Jenna Louise-Coleman, a British actress best known for her role in the popular soap opera 'Emmerdale'.

Coleman beat out hundreds of hopefuls to replace Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, who played married couple Amy Pond and Rory Williams, in the hit sci-fi television series.

Gillan and Darvill will bow out of the show in a heartbreaking departure after one final series of rollercoaster voyages, according to a BBC statement. Their last episode will be the fifth in the series where they will have to battle the Weeping Angels with fatal consequences.

Coleman rose to fame after starring as teen lesbian Jasmine Thomas in 'Emmerdale' and rowdy sixth form pupil Lindsey James in 'Waterloo Road.' She can be seen in the new forthcoming British drama about the Titanic as Annie Desmond.

Coleman will join Matt Smith -who plays the 11th incarnation of the Time Lord- in the upcoming seventh series.

It always seems impossible when you start casting these parts, but when we saw Matt and Jenna together we knew we had our girl, said Steven Moffat, lead writer and co-executive producer of the series. She's funny and clever and exactly mad enough to step on board the TARDIS.

Matt Smith did my audition with me, Coleman said when asked about the audition process. It was fun and I felt like we were in it together.

The actress will be introduced in the 2012 Christmas special in a very, very different way for the Doctor to meet his new friend according to Moffat. Remaining ever tight-lipped, he did drop some hints on what the new character will be like.

It's not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it's about to happen, said Moffat. Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that's all you're getting for now.

Who she's playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by the Doctor's standards, this isn't your usual boy meets girl, he said.

Rumors have been circulating that the newest companion could be an alien. Moffat answered ambiguously with Are there? Hmmm. An alien in 'Doctor Who'? Gosh.

Coleman will start filming the series in May. In a press conference Wednesday she said she was beyond excited to start filming and that she became quite a good liar in keeping the role a secret, even though rumors had already pinpointed her as a possible contender for the Time Lord's companion.

I can't wait to get cracking; working alongside Matt I know is going to be enormous fun and a huge adventure, said Coleman.

'Doctor Who' came back into production in 2005. Previous companions have included Billie Piper, Feema Agyeman, and Catherine Tate.

The seventh series of 'Doctor Who' is in production, but the premiere date has not yet been announced. Moffat revealed that the new series will feature more stand-alone stories then an overall story arc and it will have 14 big, blockbuster-movie episodes.

The series will be split between 2012 and 2013, with six episodes airing this year and eight broadcasting a year later to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the show in November 2013.