Friday, 25 July 2008

Freema Agyeman quits Doctor Who spin-off

Actress leaving Torchwood for new ITV show

Freema Agyeman plays Martha Jones in Doctor Who and Torchwood

Freema Agyeman will not be back for the new series of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.

The actress, 29, has instead signed up for a new ITV crime drama Law And Order: London, which will start filming in the autumn.

Scriptwriters are thought to have already written a huge storyline involving her character Martha Jones.

‘This has really mucked things about,’ a source tells The Sun. ‘We’ve had to go back and re-edit loads of scripts because she’s not going to be in it.

‘[ITV are] the Beeb’s bitter rival, so the fact she’s going over there to star in a big new project has not gone down well at all.’

A BBC spokesperson played down Freema's defection: ‘As with any drama in the early stages of production, scripts evolve and change on a daily basis before being finalised.’