Doctor Who star Mandip Gill teases ’emotional’ queer romance at the ‘heart’ of Easter special
Doctor Who addresses the feelings between Yasmin “Yaz” Khan (Mandip Gill) and the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker). (YouTube/Doctor Who/BBC)
Doctor Who star Mandip Gill has confirmed that the romance between Yaz and the Doctor will be featured in the upcoming Easter special.
Fans were over the moon to witness the beginnings of a relationship form between the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yaz (Gill) in the New Year special “Eve of the Daleks”. In the episode, Dan Lewis (John Bishop), a companion to Whittaker’s Doctor, urged the pair to confess their feelings for one another.
Now, it appears that fans will be treated to even more queer content in the next special, “Legend of the Sea Devils”, which also marks Whittaker’s penultimate appearance in the iconic role.
Gill told RadioTimes that the relationship between Yaz and the Doctor would be addressed in the Easter special, describing it as the “heart” of the episode.
“That’s where I think the heart [of the special] is, the understanding, the emotion that [showrunner Chris Chibnall] is so good at writing,” Gill said. “So I won’t tell you which way it goes, but we obviously have to touch upon that again – it wouldn’t make sense not to.”
Gill added the romance isn’t the main driving force of the episode as it’s in the “midst of everything else that’s going on” including the “sword fight with the Sea Devils and all that kind of stuff”.
The Doctor Who star added that she had seen fans’ reactions to the queer romance between the Doctor and Yaz. She described seeing people “building that up way before it was on screen” and had seen “fan art” of the couple.
As such, she believed it was “part and parcel” that Doctor Who would eventually feature the fan-favourite couple in the actual show.
“So we’re like, ‘OK, you asked for it. And here it is’,” she said. “It was always exciting.”
It isn’t the first time that Mandip Gill has shared her enthusiastic support for the “Thasmin” shippers. In a 2020 interview, Gill said she was whole-heartedly “here” for the romance and loved the idea that the two characters could eventually be a couple in the show.
“Legend of the Sea Devils” is Whittaker’s second to the last outing as the Time Lord. Doctor Who director Haolu Wang teased in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine that the special will be “epic” and “very emotional” as Whittaker is “regenerating in the next episode”.
Wang said the Easter special is “very much an adventure episode” as it’s Whittaker’s “last chance to have a bit of fun with the gang”.
Russell T Davies, who helmed the 2005 reboot of Doctor Who, is returning once again as a showrunner. But he and BBC bosses have remained tight-lipped over who will be taking over the titular role after Whittaker’s departure.
Olly Alexander, Omari Douglas, Lydia West, T’Nia Miller, Michael Sheen and Hugh Grant have all been rumoured to be frontrunners to be the 14th Doctor.
Doctor Who: Legend of the Sea Devils debuts on BBC One on 17 April and will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
