Is Doctor Who bringing back an iconic companion?
Yasmin Finney (Heartstopper) will play a character named Rose in scenes that will air in 2023 as part of the show’s 60th anniversary celebration, the BBC announced on Monday. Billie Piper previously portrayed the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler opposite Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.
Said showrunner Russell T Davies in a statement: “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. We all fell in love with her in Heartstopper, one of those shows which changes the world — and now Yasmin can change the Whoniverse!”
Added Finney: “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. 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.”
Finney joins returning stars David Tennant (aka the tenth Doctor) and Catherine Tate (Donna), who “reunite for the battle of a lifetime,” Davies teased.
As previously reported, Sex Education‘s Ncuti Gatwa will be stepping in as the series’ fourteenth Doctor starting with Season 14. His tenure will begin in 2023, after Jodie Whittaker concludes her reign following one more special airing later this year.
Ready for some more recent newsy nuggets? Well…
* A sixth season of Black Mirror is in the works at Netflix, our sister site Variety reports.
* The Daria spinoff series Jodie will now be an animated film, featuring the voices of Tracee Ellis Ross (in the title role), Pamela Adlon, William Jackson Harper, Zosia Mamet, Dermot Mulroney, Kal Penn and Heléne Yorke, among others.
* Season 3 of Hulu’s Solar Opposites will do an 11-episode binge drop on Wednesday, July 13.
* NatGeo has greenlit six new series: Dance the World With Derek Hough, which takes viewers on a global, cultural journey of popular dance styles; Restaurants at the End of the World, hosted by chef Kristen Kish; an untitled series led by travel blogger Jeff Jenkins; Farming Is Life, with urban gardener Indy Srinath; Extraordinary Birder, hosted by Christian Cooper; and Science Fair: The Series, from the producers of the Emmy-winning documentary.
Which of today’s TVLine Items pique your interest?
Aww, I was looking forward to watching Jodie, but at least they can release this on Paramount+
I’m guessing this will be a new character also named Rose, as opposed to Rose Tyler with a new face.
Though it’s Doctor Who, so really anything is possible.
Rose Tyler sucked up a lot of TARDIS energy at the end of Series 1. Who’s to say she can’t regenerate?
Regeneration, disguise, reincarnation, astral projection – there are plenty of possible explanations for how it COULD be the same Rose. The real tricky part is that she is supposedly stuck in a parallel universe that is permanently cut off from the main one in the show, so they’d have to walk that back first.
Just what I was thinking.
My favorite hypothetical explanation that I’ve thought up so far is that new-Rose comes from some alien culture where they treat the name “Rose” as sort of an honorific title due to Rose Tyler’s previous actions, in the same way that various alien species have adopted the word “Doctor” to mean very different things, depending on how he affected their history.
She did a fantastic job in “Heartstopper,” so I think she’ll fit in well in the Whoniverse. Is it possible that she’s Rose and Mickey’s daughter who was named after her mum? It would be kinda fun to have her show up from that parallel Earth to help save the day while her parents are busy. I know she left with Tennant 2.0, but there’s no guarantee that was ever gonna work out long-term for them. I hope she’s a completely new character just because I don’t want fans to have another reason to hate the newcomer. I’m really excited for the 60th and what Season 14 will bring. I actually enjoyed Jodie and her companions, but felt the writing really dragged all of them down the majority of the time. 14’s gonna be…fantastic!
I just had another thought. With Tennant being involved, maybe she’s Mickey and Martha’s daughter that they named Rose. I’d love that even more, especially if we see them as well.
Wouldn’t it be weird naming his child after his ex-girlfriend. And Martha was crushing on the Doctor while he was still thinking of Rose.
Well we won’t be seeing Mickey. Noel Clarke is extremely canceled.
She could be Donna’s daughter since Catherine Tate’s returning.
It would make sense for Rose or Mickey to name their daughter after Rose, but would it for Donna? (Genuinely asking, I don’t remember if they had any time together and Donna’s exit from the series would call into question her ability to even remember that).
Rose and Donna did meet in the episode “Turn Left”. It was Rose that helped Donna correct the timeline. Rose is the one who told Donna to “turn left”, essentially helping Donna save the Doctor and the world.
I also considered the fact that Donna doesn’t have any recollection of her time with the Doctor, but I think, in a way that could make her naming her daughter Rose kind of cool. Lie maybe somewhere in her subconscious she was drawn to the name Rose, but she didn’t know why.
Rose & Donna interacted in the two following episodes that closed out Series 4 as well (The Stolen Earth & Journey’s End). In fact it was Donna that pointed Rose out to 10 near the end of The Stolen Earth, leading to their joyful but clipped reunion in the street.
I thought I remembered that, but wasn’t positive, so I didn’t mention it. It’s been awhile since I watched it. I think it may be time for a another re-watch. :)
Black Mirror!! Finally!
Really excited with all the doctor who news, looks like they’re really trying to revive the show’s huge hype and impact it had during RTD and early Moffat years…I feel sad for Jodie’s doctor though, she was great, but she’s about to step down being marked as “the doctor who almost killed the show”
Could this be Rose’s daughter?
So excited! She did an amazing job on Heartstopper.
Let’s just replace every established white character with a person of color – will that get this crusade out of everybody’s system?
She’s playing a character named Rose. There is nothing to suggest she’s going to be Rose Tyler.
Is she in for one episode or more than one? Certainly hope it wouldn’t interfere with a second season of Heartstopper, which is surely getting announced any day now I hope?!
The first few seasons of the reboot could have been called Rose & The Doctor. Hopefully, this will be another Rose, as I don’t think she can regenerate. Then again, all that TARDIS energy….
I will be interested in seeing what the Doctor has planned.
I was hoping Billie Piper would come back with Tennant, as Rose did go off with “half” of the Doctor when they split. I assume that half of the Doctor could exist alongside another iteration of the Doctor. Wait, what ? SciFi!
No, no and no
Very clever BTW, see what people like
You MUST keep the new Dr a secret.
RTD reboot is DOA!
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