Ayooooooo… Doctor Who has cast a new Rose. 

Sort of.

It’s been revealed that Heartstopper actress Yasmin Finney has joined the cast of Russell T Davies new Doctor Who adventures, presumably the 60th anniversary special, as Rose… but not the Rose we already know and love.

Following on from an epic few weeks for Whovians, where we learned when current Doctor Jodie Whittaker was stepping down (here), who the new Doctor was (here) and that old favourites David Tennant and Catherine Tate are returning (here), we now learn that the series is getting its second Rose in under two decades.

But what gives?

“Life on Doctor Who gets brighter and wilder, how can there be another Rose?” asks returning showrunner Russell T Davies, “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!”

Is Edgar Wright in Doctor Who’s future? Maybe…

Finney is a trans actress best known for her role as Elle in Netflix hit series Heartstoppers who has joined the show in a very mad period: “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.”

Oh, and, if you’re wondering who she will be as Billie Piper was the original Rose, word is she’s called Rose Temple-Noble, which means she’s the daughter of Donna Noble and her husband Shaun Temple played by Karl Collins who has reportedly also been seen on set.

Russell T Davies was responsible for bringing Doctor Who back with Christopher Eccleston in 2005 and making the show the triumph it was but after the shows’ decline over the last few years, sped up by outgoing showrunner Chris Chibnall, he’s returning to put it back on top, where it belongs.

However, he has man fans wondering what is going on with Tennant and Tate returning as the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble, both of who exited the series a decade ago. Adding to this are images like these which have Tennant in an outfit he hasn’t worn before and with Whittaker’s TARDIS, leaving fans puzzled as to just what is happening with the new series.

Oh, and you can’t have Donna back without her granda, Wilf, left, played by the brilliant 93-year-old Bernard Cribbins who, yes!, is back too!

Adding to this the fact that some fans have pointed out that new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa has not been officially revealed as the Fourteenth Doctor, making some think that Tennant’s incarnation is back for a reason and may himself regenerate in Gatwa…  as for the new Rose, could Donna, who had her memory of the Doctor erased – although Wilf and Shaun both remember they traveled together – be having bits of memory bleed through, causing her to call her daughter Rose?  Guess we’ll all know next year.

Let’s not forget, Tom Baker’s Curator, a far-in-the-future regeneration, told Matt Smith’s Doctor that he will, over time revisit old favourite faces… is this what he meant?

 

Is it ok to be excited for Doctor Who again? Yes, yes it is…