We have Mandip Gill and Jodie Whittaker to thank for the burgeoning romance between their characters, Yaz and the Doctor, on Doctor Who.
During panel sessions at the Doctor Who convention Gallifrey One (via SYFY WIRE), producer Matt Strevens revealed that the push for Yaz and the Doctor came from the two actors after Gill showed Whittaker the social media response to the two characters’ relationship.
“Jodie had brought [ the social media response] to set after the first season, and said ‘there’s speculation out there,’ and we hadn’t really thought about it,” Strevens said. “But it became quite a big thing, and if you think about the history of Doctor Who since Russell brought it back, every companion story with the Doctor is a love story.”
In the last Doctor Who special, “The Eve of the Daleks,” Yaz confesses that she’s in love with the Doctor after new co-companion Dan (John Bishop) coaxes it out of her. “I think the way that Mandip did it and the way that Jodie’s Doctor reacts is brilliant,” Strevens said about the scene. “Yaz isn’t sure what these feelings are that she’s having, but they’re fundamental feelings. And I think it’s a testament to John Bishop’s performance that he’s sort of wheedling it out of them, which I think was brilliantly done.”
We’ll still have a bit more of Whittaker’s Doctor to look forward to, even though the actor has already shot her regeneration scene. The second of three planned specials, “Legend of the Sea Devils,” will further explore Yaz and the Doctor’s relationship, Strevens promised. We’ll be able to see for ourselves when “Legend of the Sea Devils” airs on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
