Who is Rose Noble in Doctor Who? Yasmin Finney character explained

Over the years, Doctor Who fans have grown to know and love the Noble family, from Catherine Tate's Donna and Jacqueline King's Sylvia, to Bernard Cribbins's Wilf, so meeting Rose was an absolute treat.

Returning showrunner Russell T Davies has been open about how important it was for him to cast Finney as Donna's daughter, with the rest of the cast also celebrating the rising star.

Here's everything you need to know about Yasmin Finney's Rose.

Who is Rose Noble in Doctor Who? Yasmin Finney character explained

Rose is Shaun and Donna's teenage daughter, and has only ever known her mum in the aftermath of her adventures with the Doctor, following Donna's memory being erased.

She gets caught up in the action almost immediately as she witnesses a spaceship crashing into London and then meets the Meep (voiced by Miriam Margolyes). Despite her best efforts to hide the Meep in the shed, Donna discovers the alien – and a whole lot of chaos ensues.

Finney previously confirmed that her character is trans, speaking at London Trans+ Pride earlier this year, aiming her remarks at former prime minister Boris Johnson.

She said: "How many of you have seen Doctor Who? Yeah, because that is also a moment and that is also a show where my character is trans so, Boris, I hope you see Heartstopper, I hope you see Doctor Who, because I exist, and I know you know I exist. We all exist, and we’re not going anywhere! Period."

The Star Beast includes various references to Rose being transgender, including a conversation about pronouns, and showing her grandmother Sylvia (played by Jacqueline King) attempting to get to grips with how to refer to her.

Davies has also spoken about including a trans character in the special, and recently addressed using Rose's deadname.

Speaking on the Official Doctor Who Podcast, Russell T Davies explained: "Rose, at one point, is deadnamed in the street by some kids calling her by her deadname, which is Jason.

"The interesting thing about Jason is actually it means 'Healer' or 'Doctor' which means that Donna actually named her child after the Doctor, without realising it, subconsciously, which was a nice fact in there.

"To get that across, and to get the prejudice that's being shown towards Rose by those bullies and thugs in the street, we actually have to have a scene of deadnaming."

Does Yasmin Finney's character reference Billie Piper's Rose Tyler?

Of course, Doctor Who fans were quick to notice that Finney's character shares a name with the very first companion of the modern era of Doctor Who, Billie Piper's Rose Tyler.

Is that a reference? We don't know yet. Fans have speculated that, even though Donna doesn't remember her meeting with Rose in season 4, something in her subconscious signalled that the name is important.

Finney has addressed the name's importance within Doctor Who, previously saying: "It’s obviously got a lot of history, hasn’t it? To play a character with such history, even just the name, you’ve got that pressure instantly that I didn’t have with [Heartstopper role] Elle.

"It was a complete mind-blowing experience when I got cast. I can’t really relive it because I was so in the moment. At first, [the show] had a code name, and then I found out what the show was and I was like, 'Oh my God, I’ve just been cast in Doctor Who.'"

She added: "It’s a trans character as well, and it’s such a blessing as well to be able to play such a monumental character like Rose."

Who is Rose Noble actress Yasmin Finney?

Outside of Doctor Who, Finney is best known for her role as Elle in Heartstopper. Doctor Who is her second big role after the Netflix series, with showrunner Russell T Davies previously revealing he asked advice from Doctor Who director Euros Lyn, who had also directed Finney in Heartstopper.

Speaking about Finney's casting at the premiere of The Star Beast, Davies explained: "It's not just a Doctor Who thing for me, it's something I and a lot of other writers are very keen to do, to be progressive and to just reflect more of society.

"And it's funny, in casting Yasmin, there's very few people we could have cast, and it's like a light came down from heaven and there she was - before Heartstopper, actually.

"It was just so powerfully meant to be, and I think she does the most amazing job and it's an absolute privilege to work with her to get her on screen."

Doctor Who's first 60th anniversary special The Star Beast airs at 6:30pm on Saturday 25th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Classic episodes are available on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.

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