'Relief' for Doctor Who sidekick

Doctor Who star Karen Gillan admitted it was "a massive relief" to be able to tell people she was leaving the hit show.

The actress, who plays the Time Lord's sidekick Amy Pond, told Graham Norton she did not know if her character would be killed off.

She said: "I have known for ages that I am leaving and it's such a massive relief that it is out and I can speak freely about it. I'm back next year for a few episodes but it's not actually confirmed when I go."

The actress, who is appearing on The Graham Norton Show on Friday night on BBC1 with actors Gerard Butler and Martin Freeman and musician Noel Gallagher, said her latest role as 1960s model Jean Shrimpton got a vote of approval from the woman herself.

Karen said: "She gave her consent to having it made but then didn't want anything to do with it because she is quite reclusive. But she saw it and she really liked it and left a voicemail saying she thought it was really accurate. That was the best compliment I could have got."

The red-haired actress said she used fake tan to look more like Shrimpton with unintended consequences.

She said: "I went into film the first day and I was the same colour as my hair. You couldn't tell where my hair ended and my skin started, so I had to exfoliate several times to get it off."