Doctor Who gets official spin-off series called Class set in Shoreditch

It's aimed at the young adult audience

Coal Hill School in Doctor Who (BBC)

The Doctor Who universe is expanding, with BBC Three set to air a new young adult-orientated drama called Class that will take place at Coal Hill School.

Doctor’ companions Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Clara Oswald have all worked at the fictional school, where students will be seen fighting off alien threats to London.

If the show is to have any verisimilitude with its Shoreditch location, they will presumably also be vaping, riding SwegWays, and vandalising small businesses accused of gentrification.

Class will debut next year and seems to be aiming for a Buffy/Hunger Games vibe, being written by YA author Patrick Ness (A Monster Calls).

Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat said: "No-one has documented the dark and exhilarating world of the teenager like Patrick Ness, and now we're bringing his brilliant story-telling into Doctor Who. This is growing up in modern Britain - but with monsters!"

I'm astounded and thrilled to be entering the Doctor Who universe, which is as vast as time and space itself," Ness added. "There's so much room there for all kinds of amazing stories, and to work with Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin to find a place to tell one of my own has been an absolute joy.

"I can't wait for people to meet the heroes of Class, to meet the all-new villains and aliens, to remember that the horrors of the darkest corners of existence are just about on par with having to pass your A-Levels."

@christophhooton