Doctor Who: BBC Has Perfect Response To Complaints About Yasmin Finney's Trans Character

"Doctor Who" is a show about an alien who travels through time and regenerates with a new human visage when suffering a fatal wound. For some, though, it seems adding a transgender character to the cast is a step too far. 

The 2023 episode "The Star Beast" introduces a new character, Rose Noble, played by trans performer Yasmin Finney. BBC reportedly received 144 complaints regarding her inclusion, with the episode in question receiving 7.6 million viewers in total, meaning the complainers represent only 0.00002% of the episode's audience. BBC responded to the objections firmly: "As regular viewers of 'Doctor Who' will be aware, the show has and will always continue to proudly celebrate diversity and reflect the world we live in. We are always mindful of the content within our episodes."

Such representation on "Doctor Who" is a result of a concerted effort from showrunner Russell T. Davies. Prior to "The Star Beast" airing, Metro reported Davies' message for anyone who was against trans inclusion on "Doctor Who": "Shame on you and good luck to you in your lonely lives."

The upset about a trans character on "Doctor Who" is a bit odd considering, as a Time Lord, the Doctor can regenerate into different genders, as evidenced by Jodie Whittaker, a cisgender woman, playing the 13th Doctor. In "The Star Beast," the character is back to being played by cis man David Tennant, considered by many to be one of the best Doctors. What does gender even mean to a regenerating alien? But even beyond the Doctor, the episode delves headfirst into issues surrounding the transgender community.

Yasmin Finney's Rose deals with transphobic remarks throughout "The Star Beast," including an altercation where she's deadnamed. Finny explained in an interview posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) how having to act in such scenes was particularly triggering: "It did kind of bring back some PTSD for me. Sadly, my high school experience was a lot of bullying and a lot of defending myself and having to put on a brave face."

Elsewhere in the episode, the Doctor refers to an alien called the Meep — a fuzzy, mammal-like entity — as "him," to which Rose responds, "You're assuming 'he' as a pronoun?" As is the case with the best science fiction, "Doctor Who" uses surreal, otherworldly concepts to tackle real-world issues, and in this instance, it appears to want to open a discussion on what it means to be trans in the modern world. Other transgender actors have appeared on "Doctor Who" before, like Bethany Black; however, Black's character isn't trans. Finney being trans and portraying an explicitly trans character is a fantastic step toward greater representation on a series that means so much to so many people.