‘Heartstopper’ Star Yasmin Finney Addresses Historic Character Name Entering ‘Doctor Who’

Doctor Who has a long history, longer than the most recent iteration of the series, even. Still, the time period of the show that is referred to by fans as “New Who” has garnered a lot of new fans people for the franchise as a whole. We are currently in our fourteenth season of that era alone, not even including the eight versions of the Doctor that came before Christopher Eccleston brought the series back in 2005.

Now though, we’re heading into an exciting new era of the series as we first have a 60th anniversary special with David Tennant’s return to the role as the Fourteenth Doctor, prior to Ncuti Gatwa taking over as our latest Doctor! Personally, I cannot wait to see Gatwa take on the role as he is absolutely incredible in Sex Education and showed us a new fun side to him with his role as Ken in Barbie. But Gatwa isn’t the only new addition to the world of Doctor Who.

Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney is joining the cast with a very important name: Rose. Rose was the name of Billie Piper’s character, who started the series with the 9th Doctor (Eccleston) and continued through one more season with the 10th Doctor (Tennant). Their love story was a catalyst for the story, and she remains one of the best companions in the show’s history.

We do not currently know what Finney’s Rose means. Is it a nod to Rose Tyler? Is this something else entirely? We’ll have to wait and see, but Finney recently spoke with Elle about her role, and she recognizes the history with the name. “It’s obviously got a lot of history, hasn’t it?” Finney said, and she went on to acknowledge the history with the name alone. “To play a character with such history, even just the name, you’ve got that pressure instantly that I didn’t have with Elle.” Elle is her character from Heartstopper who is a fan favorite but not necessarily with the history that Rose Tyler has.

Cue “Rose’s Theme” by Murray Gold

Rose Tyler, as I said before, remains a fan favorite. Even if Finney’s Rose has nothing to do with Rose Tyler, it’s still a name that holds power in the Doctor Who world, and I’m personally very excited to see her take on the role (and the name.)

“It was a complete mind-blowing experience when I got cast,” Finney said. “I can’t really relive it because I was so in the moment. At first, [the show] had a code name, and then I found out what the show was and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve just been cast in Doctor Who.'”

It is also important to note that Finney is bringing one of the first trans characters to the series. “It’s a trans character as well, and it’s such a blessing as well to be able to play such a monumental character like Rose.” I can’t wait to meet her Rose and after finishing Heartstopper season 2, I need more of Finney’s work in my life.

(featured image: Netflix)