Heartstopper actress Yasmin Finney starring in Doctor Who is one of the most exciting things to happen to the franchise in recent years, and that’s really saying something considering we’re getting Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, three new specials with David Tennant, AND the return of Catherine Tate soon as well!
Finney’s casting was announced back in 2022 and it sparked speculation immediately because the name of her character was one very familiar to Who fans. She shared a name with the first character to appear in the rebooted Doctor Who series, Billie Piper’s Rose. So was she Billie Piper’s Rose?! Had Rose borrowed some Time Lord powers and regenerated somehow?! Returning showrunner Russell T. Davies sure wasn’t telling. He teased as part of the announcement, “…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.”
We finally know who Rose is
Fans who watched the 60th anniversary trailer and who looked at the officially released photos for upcoming episodes were able to make a pretty good guess at the identity of this new Rose. She was sharing scenes with Catherine Tate’s Donna in the trailer, a big indication that the two were connected. And in one of the promo pics she was standing with Donna’s mother Sylvia (Jacqueline King) and holding the hand of Donna’s husband Shaun (Karl Collins.)
Yep, it doesn’t take a TARDIS to work this one out. Rose is the daughter of Donna and Shaun, surely? (Perhaps even named after the original Rose, if Donna still has memories of meeting her floating around in her subconscious?)
Well, everyone who guessed that Rose was Donna’s child was 100% right! On August 30, Finney’s birthday, the official Doctor Who Twitter/X account posted a celebratory message with some exciting new info.
They confirmed Rose’s parentage and added a never-before-seen synopsis for the first episode featuring her, saying, “…what happens when Rose meets one of her mum’s oldest friends? It is a mystery for now, but what we do know is that just like her mother, Rose stumbles across something alien – and from that point her seemingly ordinary family is never quite the same…”
A new addition to the Doctor Who family
I for one am absolutely thrilled to meet Rose. I can’t wait to see her on screen interacting with the other members of the Noble-Temple family — Donna, of course, but also Shaun, Sylvia and Donna’s grandfather Wilf. (Wilf’s actor, British national treasure Bernard Cribbins, passed away just after filming the Doctor Who specials so that adds a tremendous poignancy to what’s to come.)
And the importance of Finney being the first transgender actress to play a major Doctor Who character can’t be overstated. With transphobia so rampant in the U.K. right now, Finney being cast as Rose isn’t just a big deal for Who, but for British TV in general. Let’s give her the warmest of welcomes when she makes her debut.
(featured image: BBC)
