Emma Watson fans' preferred Doctor Who assistant

Emma Watson fans' preferred Doctor Who assistant (Image credit: PA)

Emma Watson has come top of a poll to find the perfect new assistant for Doctor Who. Producers have been hunting for a sidekick for the Time Lord since Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who played Amy Pond, announced she was leaving the BBC show. In a survey for entertainment and games website IGN.com, more than a quarter of the 5000 people questioned picked former Harry Potter star Emma as the ideal new co-star for leading man Matt Smith. New Girl star Zooey Deschanel came second in the poll, with former Brookside star Anna Friel in third place. Mama Do singer Pixie Lott and Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke finished in fourth and fifth place. Meanwhile, the highest ranked male was Attack The Block's John Boyega. Chris Tilly, entertainment editor at IGN.com, said: "Emma is the overwhelming favourite with viewers - as Hermione Granger she empowered super-smart girls all over the world and she also showed impressive action credentials in the later Harry Potter movies. "Fans really want to see her make the switch from magic to time travel. With Karen Gillan leaving, this will be one of the most hotly-contested roles in TV."

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.