Latest rumours suggest Clara may be leaving at the end of series 8. Now, I hope this isn't true as Clara is by far my favourite companion. However, photos I have seen taken on-location make it appear quite likely. So here, I'm going to discuss five ways Clara may leave the show:
1. She eats a under-cooked Soufflé
We all know Clara likes Souffles...but what if that turned out to be her downfall? What if, one day in the TARDIS kitchen, she takes one out of the oven too early and ends up food poisoning herself? Bear in mind that we don't know how good her cooking skills are, so that makes it all the more plausible.
Could Clara become the first companion to die of food poisoning?
It certainly seems likely, seeing as her love of Souffles is one of the most iconic things about her character but it doesn't seem very Moffat-y Woffat-y.
2. 12 goes all Tucker on her
Admittedly, this one is the least likely seeing as Doctor Who is a family show and therefore not likely to show the Doctor telling his companion to fuck off but maybe we could see 12 harshly telling her to bog off without the swearing? That would still come across as very Malcolm Tucker and therefore play to Peter Capaldi's strengths.
It would certainly be a unexpected way for a companion to leave but maybe that's what's needed? A exit like this could make for a breath of fresh air from other companion exits whilst also giving us a little glimpse at the dark side of the Doctor(although I wouldn't want to see 12 always acting dark/serious. The dark side should be left for one scene at the end of a episode). It would be incredibly out of character for the Doctor, though so maybe wouldn't be a wise decision by Steven Moffat.
3. Clara acts like a Tennant/Smith-only fangirl
A lot of David Tennant and Matt Smith fangirls(although not all of them) complain about 12 being 'too old'. So maybe Clara will represent their views and opinions and this will lead to her deciding to leave the TARDIS behind?
I'm not a fan of that type of exit; I prefer the big, emotional ones and I hope Clara gets a dramatic exit similar in tone to Amy and Rory's but unfortunately I wouldn't be too surprised if a exit similar to this idea is what Clara gets. Maybe not as a result of Clara complaining that 12 is 'too old' despite the fact he's middle aged and actually not old at all but she might do it for a different reason such as how different 12 is rumoured to be from 11. Or, if we get a Pertwee-inspired series, she may leave as part of a romance sub-plot like Jo Grant and Clifford Jones. Either way, this is probably the most likely of the five exit theories(bar the age part).
4. The TARDIS shakes her out mid-flight
This is a loose thread Steven Moffat is yet to explore properly. We still don't know why the TARDIS hates Clara and we know Steven Moffat likes to take his time explaining things, so it is possible we could see a conclusion to this in series 8. And how better to conclude it than have the TARDIS bunk off a companion?
Something like this would really test the Doctor's loyalty with his machine and the amount of love and attention he devotes to it. Would the Doctor still care about Sexy if she killed his companion? Or would he abandon her? Would their relationship come to an end?
There's so many interesting things that could be explored if this were to happen. But would Steven Moffat really want to turn the TARDIS into a psychopath? Probably not. Still, this is Steven Moffat we're talking about. Anything could happen with him. 12 may grow a tail.
5. Clara finds herself onboard the Titanic
In 2012, Jenna Coleman appeared in the shit ITV mini-series spread-thinner-than-margarine-on-a-piece-of-bread Titanic. Maybe Doctor Who could take advantage of this and show Clara sinking along with the crew onboard the Titantic?
Actually, scrap that. I'd rather not be reminded of that godawful series.
So, these are my five theories. But what are your's? Leave your theories in the comments below.