Doctor Who Casts Heartstopper's Yasmin Finney as Rose

Yasmin Finney, who starred in Netflix's hit queer romance series Heartstopper, will join Ncuti Gatwa, David Tennant, and Catherine Tate in the upcoming 60th anniversary season of Doctor Who. Finney will play Rose, a name that should be familiar to fans of Russell T. Davies' original tenure as Doctor Who's showrunner. Davies returns for the anniversary season. "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 says in a press release. "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."

Billie Piper played Rose Tyler, companion to the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, during Davies' original run on Doctor Who. Davies remains coy about how this Rose may relate to the previous Rose.

"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," Davies says. "We all fell in love with her in Heartstopper, one of those shows which changes the world – and now Yasmin can change the Whoniverse!"

Davies was similarly cryptic about Tennant and Tate's returns. "Maybe this is a missing story. Or a parallel world. Or a dream, or a trick or flashback. The only thing I can confirm is it's going to be spectacular, as two of our greatest stars reunite for the battle of a lifetime."

Doctor Who is filming now, but the 60th anniversary season of Doctor Who won't debut until 2023. This year, fans will still have to bid farewell to Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor and current series showrunner Chris Chibnall in the upcoming Doctor Who BBC Centenary Special. The episode brings back two classic Doctor Who companions from the original, pre-relaunch era of the long-running sci-fi show. The episode debuts in the fall. You can get caught up on Doctor Who with our streaming binge guide to the series.

A previous version of this story reported that Finney is playing companion Rose Tyler. We apologize for the error.