Doctor Who just added three new characters to the upcoming Season 11, but are they all companions? That's the million dollar question as the BBC announced actors Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Gill as members of the regular cast as Jodie Whittaker takes over as the Doctor. Here's a first look at the new squad, and we'll be getting into what we know so far about these actors and and the characters' possible relationship with the Doctor.
Bradley Walsh is known in Britain as a prolific game show host, as well as a former actor on Coronation Street and Law & Order: U.K., and he'lll star in Doctor Who Season 11 in the role of "Graham." Walsh was rumored to be attached to Doctor Who two months ago as a companion, and it appears there may have been some truth to those rumors after all. We still don't know if Walsh will for sure play companion to Jodie Whittaker's Time Lord, but given the first half of the previously reported rumor was true, the companion angle feels far more likely now.
While someone had the jump on Bradley Walsh's news, nothing appears to have been rumored about newcomer Tosin Cole or his new character "Ryan" until now. Cole is listed as a series regular, but there is unfortunately no other information regarding what role he will play in Doctor Who. Outside of timey-wimey roles, Cole started off his acting career on a teen drama The Cut back in Britain before hitting it big and getting a series regular role on the long-running soap opera Hollyoaks. The actor also had a brief cameo role in another sci-fi franchise, as he appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the X-Wing pilot Lt. Bastian.
The story is largely the same for new star Mandip Gill, who is now a part of the Doctor Who family as "Yasmin," though once again, little information has been given on her character beyond she's a series regular. (Although she is listed as a companion on her Wikipedia page, which is interesting if not hardcore proof.) Gill also had a long run on Hollyoaks similar to Tosin Cole's, although she stayed with the series a couple years longer. Since then Gill has popped around to other British shows before landing this presumably big break.
While there was no explicit "these are the new companions," statement made in The BBC's press release, or by the various actors' social posts, several quotes refer to these new characters as part of a team. One quote specifically from The BBC's Piers Wenger acknowledges all three new characters will be on the Tardis, although many have ridden in the ship in the past without becoming full-fledged companions.
We likely won't know who these characters are for sure until Doctor Who officially premieres Season 11 in the fall of 2018. Of course, fans still have to say goodbye to Peter Capaldi's Doctor in the Christmas episode, which has some mysteries of its own. Check out the trailer for that episode right here, and see who might be making a one-off return in that episode as well.
For more on great television in general that can be binged in anticipation of Doctor Who, be sure to visit our fall premiere guide.
