Reports say a former companion was asked back for Doctor Who Christmas special

Rumors persist that a former companion might join Peter Capaldi for his final Doctor Who episode. Could it be true? Maybe.

This Christmas marks Peter Capaldi’s last outing as the Twelfth Doctor on Doctor Who. Holiday installment “Twice Upon a Time” will not only see Capaldi regenerate, it will also serve as the official exits for current companion Pearl Mackie and showrunner Steven Moffat. (Current Master —Mistress—Michelle Gomez already bowed out during season 10 finale “The Doctor Falls.”)

It’s a real end of an era. But before we say our final goodbyes to Twelve, we might have the chance to see another familiar face one last time: Former companion Jenna Coleman.

Rumors that Coleman might return as Clara to help bid farewell to Twelve have circulated for months. But now they have a slightly more official—though, of course, still completely unconfirmed—tinge to them.

According to the Radio Times, the BBC officially asked Coleman back for the Christmas special this year. Of course, that report doesn’t mention whether the actress said yes to their request or not, or how the magazine knows this information. But let’s go with it.

As a source they’re usually pretty reliable, if not always exact. And besides, at this point it does seem like a foregone conclusion that Clara would return in some capacity. Doctor Who seems to like featuring former companions during a popular Doctor’s exit in the modern era. (For example: Billie Piper appeared briefly during Ten’s regeneration, and Karen Gillan showed up for a quick moment during Eleven’s.) And whether you think Clara and Twelve were great together or not, she was his partner for the bulk of his run.

A return for her makes sense, and there’s probably more than decent odds it will happen. (We just don’t have anything official to confirm it yet.) Besides it’s not like Coleman’s appearance needs to be particularly substantial. Gillian’s return in  “The Time of the Doctor” was basically a quick cameo. She said four words. Perhaps all we need is to just see Clara long enough for the Doctor to really remember her before he regenerates. It’d be a nice bit of closure for that storyline, and for Twelve himself as well.

But, until there’s an official announcement, or we see “Twice Upon a Time” for ourselves, all of this is so much speculation. Filming on the Doctor Who Christmas special wrapped back in July. And for most of the summer, Coleman’s been busy putting the finishing touches on a completely different holiday story. Period drama Victoria’s first Yuletide installment will also air this Christmas, which stars Coleman as the young queen. Might she have chosen to only partake in one holiday episode this year? It’s possible. (Not likely, probably. But possible.)

Next: Doctor Who: Missy will get her own tie-in novel next year

Doctor Who will return on Christmas Day on both BBC One and BBC America. So there’s probably nothing to do for this but wait.