It's always a sad day when a character has to leave 'Doctor Who,' and fans were definitely devastated when Twelve's companion (Jenna Coleman) was finally killed in 'Face the Raven.' However, showrunner Steven Moffat has just admitted to Blogtor Who that Clara Oswald's recent exit from Series Nine was something that has been planned for a really long time.

"What we're gonna do with Clara's departure was 'Plan A.' This is what I wanted to with Clara from very, very early on in Clara's run but Jenna said that she wanted to leave at the end of Series Eight," Moffat revealed, adding that he had a feeling the actress wanted to stay with 'Doctor Who' a little longer.

"I sort of knew she didn't really want to leave, I think she just felt she ought to leave at the end of Series Eight despite my various attempts to tell her what she was thinking - which never goes down well I find with human beings!" he said with a laugh.

Steven Moffat also admitted that he already wrote Clara out in one episode, but Jenna Coleman asked to return.

"She decided to leave so I wrote her out of the end of 'Death in Heaven,' that was her last episode," he revealed. "I was halfway through '[Last] Christmas' without Jenna and she said, 'Actually, I'd like to be in Christmas,' so I discreetly threw away the script I was writing and started again," Moffat said with a laugh.

There was one more revelation, as Steven Moffat confirmed he had written Clara out after Christmas, but this time, he was prepared.

"I wrote her out of the end of 'Christmas' but this time I sniffed a wind and wrote two endings; one version where she actually is the old lady and we last see her going up the spiral staircase," he admitted. "At the read-through, we did the big heart-rending departure and she changed her mind."

Clara Oswald was the Doctor's companion from Series Seven to Nine.