A new clue about the series 7 premiere of Doctor Who has popped up, thanks to the schedule from the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival. The festival will be showing the first episode of the series between August 23 and August 25, and its still-unannounced television air date will likely follow in September.

Meanwhile, showrunner Steven Moffat has been talking up new companion Jenna-Louise Coleman, who will make her debut in this year's Christmas Special. Apparently, she's not like all the other companions, despite fitting the "young, attractive female" mold.

Moffat:

I'll answer you in the show about how it's going to be different. But because it is going to be different. It's going to be a shock, I think. In terms of the companions all being 'the same'—that's not as phony or artistically crap a thing to say as it sounds. What is the base group of people who would run away with the Doctor? They're all going to be a bit mad. A bit dislocated. Not happy with where they are. Are they yearning for outer space? They're going to be people who feel like they can take on the Doctor, who's quite an intimidating sort of person. So, they're going to be feisty—they're going to be all those things. He sort of defines the people who are going to travel with him.

Moffat has previously said that the new companion's identity will be quite a shocker and "one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters," so there's definitely more to the story than "she's a bit mad."

Looks like we'll have to wait until Christmas to find out what it is, though.

[nerdbastards.]

The wait to meet the Doctor's new companion is almost over. The BBC has announced that Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat will hold a press conference tomorrow to introduce the person who will be taking Amy and Rory's place after their exit from the show.

Mark Jeffers of the Daily Mirror says he heard from a source at the BBC that the new companion will be female, and will be "pretty" but "not a household name."

If that's true, it rules out rumored new companion Miranda Hart, whose starring role in the popular BBC comedy series Miranda qualifies her as a "household name" but leaves previous Doctor Who guest star Sophia Myles (Underworld) in the running.

Bleeding Cool reports that the latest hot rumors point to Aisling Loftus, who is currently appearing in Death of a Superhero with Andy Serkis.

Although the next series of Doctor Who won't air until the fall, the early announcement seems to have come about because the new companion is about to appear on set, and the information would get out one way or another.

[bleedingcool]