TV & Movies

Doctor Who Actor Mandip Gill Teases Exciting Future For "Thasmin”

The fans are getting what they’ve been patiently waiting for.

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Doctor Who actresses Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill
BBC

Doctor Who fans have been hoping for a romantic relationship to transpire between the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her companion, Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), for years, nicknaming the would-be Doctor Who power couple “Thasmin” [Thirteen and Yasmin] way back in 2018. With Yaz finally confessing her feelings on the most recent New Years Eve special, Mandip Gill — who plays Yasmin Khan — has revealed that the potential romance will be addressed again in the show’s hotly-anticipated new Easter special Legend Of The Sea Devils.

“I won’t tell you which way it goes,” Gill told Radio Times, “but we obviously have to touch upon that again — it wouldn't make sense not to.” The star added that Thasmin will not necessarily be the main focus. “I mean, that's in the midst of everything else that's going on,” she added. “And you know, the sword fight with the Sea Devils, and all that kind of stuff.”

The new special is set to air on Apr. 17, and in an interview with Doctor Who magazine, director Haolu Wang teased “an adventure episode” that marks Jodie Whittaker’s “last chance to have a bit of fun with the gang,” ahead of regenerating. A new trailer gives a first glimpse of what to expect.

Ahead of the much-shipped power couple potentially returning to our screens, producers have also revealed that the chemistry between the two characters was completely unplanned. It’s a stance that Gill also appeared to back up. “I'd seen fan art of that happening,” she told Radio Times, “I'd seen people talking about it, I'd seen people had rewritten storylines and all that stuff. So we're like, ‘OK, you asked for it. And here it is.”

At the Doctor Who convention Gallifrey One, which takes place every year in L.A, the show’s executive producer, Matt Stevens, revealed that the blossoming romance between Thasmin came directly from the fandom. "I didn't know what Thasmin was,” Stevens reportedly said, according to a fan at the conference. “Jodie said after the first season, oh there's speculation out there, but we hadn't really thought about it.”

Initially he “forgot” about the ship, but Stevens ended up incorporating it into season thirteen, and in the 2022 special “Eve of the Daleks,” Yaz ends up admitting her feelings in a conversation with the Doctor’s newest companion, Dan Lewis (portrayed by John Bishop).

"[Thasmin] was something that [Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall] wanted to bring in and sort of play with," he said. "Yaz is not sure about what these feelings she's having are.”

Time is running out for telly’s best new intergalactic couple to make things official, with Whittaker’s final series as the Doctor slated for Autumn 2022.But for long-time shippers of Thasmin eager for full-blown romance, Yaz’s admission apparently isn’t the end of the matter. “There's more to come,” Stevens teased.

Watch this space, time travellers.

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