Yasmin Finney, best known for her breakout role as trans teen Elle in the LGBTQ Netflix sensation Heartstopper, has confirmed that she has joined Doctor Who alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate for the series’ 60th anniversary celebrations, set to broadcast in late 2023.
The BBC has revealed that Finney will be playing a character named Rose — a name most notable to Doctor Who fans with Rose Tyler, the companion played by Billie Piper alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant’s Doctors in 2005 and 2006. Just how Finney’s Rose is connected, if at all, to Piper’s character remains to be seen.
“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,” incoming showrunner Russell T. Davies said in a press statment. “We all fell in love with her in Heartstopper, one of those shows which changes the world — and now Yasmin can change the Whoniverse!”
In Heartstopper — an adaptation of the smash-hit comic of the same name by Alice Oseman following the lives of two queer British teenagers and their friends — Finney plays Elle Argent, a young trans teenager beginning her first year at an all-girls high school after coming out.
“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 added in her own statment. “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 returns to BBC One and BBC America later this year for Jodie Whittaker’s final episode as the 13th Doctor. Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary special, starring David Tennant, Catherine Tate, and Yasmin Finney, is expected to air some time in November 2023.
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.