Doctor Who Finally Confirms Its Mystery New Rose’s Familial Connection

Ever since Doctor Who teased the arrival of someone else named Rose in the world of adventures of time and space, fans have been speculating about who she really is. And while it’s not quite the child of the Bad Wolf just yet, it’s still nice to learn a little more about her.

To celebrate Heartstopper actress and incoming Doctor Who guest star Yasmin Finney’s birthday today, the BBC released a new image of her from the upcoming 60th anniversary trilogy of specials, confirming that, at long last: she’s Rose Noble.

Rose is, specifically, the daughter of Catherine Tate’s returning companion Donna, and her husband Shaun Temple—who Donna married in Tate’s final regular appearance in Doctor Who during David Tennant’s swan song “The End of Time, Part II” on New Year’s Day 2010. So there’s no explicit connection to the other famous Rose of the Doctor’s life, Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler.

But considering the whole timey-wimey situation around Donna herself—her memories of traveling with the Doctor erased under the threat of them burning her mind out from the inside—as the newly regenerated Doctor finds themselves crossing paths with the Noble family once again this November, there’s probably something to the fact that Donna just happened to name her daughter Rose, despite allegedly having her memories of the Doctor wiped. Especially considering the Doctor’s running around with that familiar face again. The official Doctor Who X page did at least offer a tease…

We’ll find out more soon enough as Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary draws ever closer—the series returns for a trio of specials this November, before returning with Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor sometime in 2024.

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