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Be still, my heart! Yasmin Finney of Heartstopper fame is joining the cast of Doctor Who! Finney will embark on a timey-wimey, reality-shattering adventure alongside Ncuti Gatwa, David Tenant (the 14th Doctor), and Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) in the upcoming 60th anniversary season of Doctor Who. Finney will play Rose, who will be familiar to fans of Russell T. Davies’ original turn as Doctor Who‘s showrunner.
Finney recently made her screen debut as Elle Argent for Netflix’s Heartstopper. Her on-screen chemistry with her co-star William Gao (Tao Xu) has been setting social media accounts on fire for weeks, and now she’s moving on to Doctor Who! That’s quite the leap and so well-deserved.
“If anyone would have told 8 year old Yasmin that one day she’d be part of this iconic show, I would have never in a million years believed them,” Finney said in a press release. “This show has a place in so many people’s hearts, so to be seen as a trans actress by the legend himself Russell, has not only made my year, it’s made my life. I cannot wait to begin this journey and for you all to see how Rose blossoms. Get Ready.”
Doctor Who stands to make history when Gatwa begins his tenure as the new Doctor. Not only is Gatwa the first Black male to play the Doctor, but Finney is also the first transgender actor to play one of the Doctor’s companions on the long-running series. It’s also worth noting that this is not the first time a transgender actor has participated in Doctor Who. Before Finney, Rebecca Root played companion Tania Bell in the Doctor Who audio series Stranded.
Meanwhile, Billie Piper played Rose Tyler, companion to the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, during Davies’ time on the series. How Finney’s Rose will relate to Piper’s is anyone’s guess.
“Life on Doctor Who gets brighter and wilder, how can there be another Rose? You’ll find out in 2023, but it’s an absolute joy to welcome Yasmin to the Doctor Who set,” Davies says. “We all fell in love with her in Heartstopper, one of those shows which changes the world – and now Yasmin can change the Whoniverse!”
Davies is also keeping the returns of the 14th Doctor and Donna Noble underneath his hat. “Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick or flashback. The only thing I can confirm is it’s going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime.”
I could not be more excited about the next season of Doctor Who! The beloved series needs a big win after the ups and downs of Jodi Whittaker’s turn (totally not her fault, Whittaker was fantastic), and taking big swings like this could be a way to do precisely that. Let’s go!
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