“Chris Chibnall didn’t make up people of colour!” Mandip Gill declares, as she looks back on the reaction to her casting in Doctor Who.
The beloved BBC series has always been progressive, ever since its inception in 1963. But, in recent years, it’s been at the centre of debates around “political correctness” and “wokeness” on TV, largely as a result of its commitment to representation on screen.
Gill found that out for herself when she made her Doctor Who debut in 2018 as Yasmin Khan, alongside Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor (the first permanent female incarnation of the Doctor), Tosin Cole, who played companion Ryan Sinclair, and Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien.
“When our series came out, we had a lot of people going, ‘Oh, it’s so politically correct,’ and ‘They had to have a person of colour, two people of colour, an older person,'” Gill remembers, speaking exclusively to Radio Times as she returns to Doctor Who for brand-new audio adventures with Big Finish.
“I was never bothered [because] I was so excited to be in Doctor Who and there are so many positive things that I wouldn’t really focus on that. But it shocked me, because I’m like, [then-showrunner] Chris Chibnall did not make up people of colour! It’s not something he’s created. We exist. I was born here, and I’ve worked for years, and I’ve been on shows, and never really had to justify why I’d be on the show.
“What I loved about our series is that it didn’t… there was only, like, an episode that was heavily focused for my character and then one for Ryan’s about our race and our background. I loved that we touched on that. [But] I also love that the colour wasn’t at the forefront and race wasn’t always talked about.
“But I feel really proud to have been part of the change in television, because when I was younger, there were Asian people in The Bill, Bend It Like Beckham, Goodness Gracious Me, but they were so few and far between that we had to watch them. I was born in England, but my mum and dad weren’t, so I remember going, ‘Oh my god, there’s people that look like us on TV.’
“So I’m really, really proud that I’m part of that story. It’s just a bit gutting that we still talk about it as if we’re brand new and are not part of the community because, for me, TV’s supposed to educate and entertain and [be] escapism, and in doing that, you have to be reflective of society.”
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Years after her first appearance in Doctor Who, Gill has now returned to the role of police officer and companion Yaz for Big Finish’s audio adventures, which have seen her flesh out the role beyond what we saw on screen.
“I feel like Yaz is getting more mature,” she said of changes to her character since we last saw her in the series. “It feels like she’s definitely older, but that could be because I’m older and playing her a little bit more stable and stuff like that! I’m always getting to know her. And the writers are so good, because they don’t just stick with what they’ve seen. They continue to develop.
“I’ll be so excited to see where she does head in the audios, because she was quite young when she started. The TV show is her first adventures in space, and at this point she’s been going for however long. So there’s so much to play with, about how comfortable she is there… She was apprehensive [in the series], and it’d be nice just for her to [be] less cautious.”
She added: “She’ll always be a police officer first and foremost, protecting herself and doing the right thing.”
While Gill hasn’t (yet!) reprised her role as Yaz on screen, the same can’t be said for her co-star Whittaker, who made a surprise return for Ncuti Gatwa’s final episode as the Fifteenth Doctor.
Considering the pair are such close pals, we had to ask whether Gill knew about Whittaker’s return.
‘No comment!” she replied. “She is very good at keeping secrets.”
Gill added: “I was so happy for her. I was so chuffed to see it – obviously, I’ve got to tune in and support my friend – but she’s very good at keeping secrets, as everyone would know when she was first given the job. Even her immediate family didn’t know!”
Now, as we await news on this year’s Christmas special, there are plenty of mysteries about what’s set to happen next – including whether Billie Piper is set to be the Sixteenth Doctor after her surprise appearance in The Reality War, or whether the mantle will fall to someone else.
Looking ahead at what she’d like to see from the next Doctor, Gill reflects: “We’ve had the fun one we’ve had the quirky one, we’ve had the serious one, and I don’t know if it needs to be different or just an amalgamation of all those emotions.
“I don’t know what I need to see, but every time a new one comes out, you’re like, ‘Oh my god, that makes sense. That’s so refreshing, and that’s so new.’ And actually, when you boil down to it, everyone has done something quite similar – they’ve [given the Doctor] beautiful characteristics, [made them] human in ways, and flamboyant.
“It doesn’t need anything. Everyone’s done what’s needed and what’s worked – but it’ll be so exciting to see a new one.”
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: Aegis is available to buy from Big Finish now.
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