Doctor Who favourite Mandip Gill teases "furthering" relationship between Thirteen and Yaz in new adventures

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

What’s the view from your sofa?

A massive pouffe to put my legs on and a lovely-sized TV. But what I really like to look at are memorabilia from shows that I’ve done, because when I think of the show, I think of the people.

What kind of memorabilia?

By the TV, there’s a gold frame from Can You Keep a Secret?, a sitcom that I filmed this year with Dawn French and Mark Heap [coming to BBC One in early 2026]. I’m really proud of it. I’ve seen bits of it five or six times and they still make me laugh. As a wrap gift, Dawn bought us each a lovely plate with Can You Keep a Secret? written around the rim, so I’ve got that out, too.

Any other notable pieces?

One of the presents that Jodie Whittaker bought me when we were doing Doctor Who [Gill played the Doctor’s companion Yasmin Khan] was this gorgeous lamp with a massive round bulb. The bulb has blown now and I can’t afford to replace it, but it’s not just an ornament because it wasn’t just a lamp. I look at it and I think of the show and of Jodie.

In the kitchen, I’ve got a piece of fan art. Someone engraved Jodie and me in the last scene of Doctor Who onto a piece of cork, and it’s so beautiful.

You reunited with Jodie to do Doctor Who audio dramas. How was that?

So good. You’ve gone back to characters you adore, you’re working with these amazing people and also having such a laugh. They don’t need a budget for location so these stories can go anywhere – and you don’t need to learn your lines. And I get to spend 72 hours in a room with one of my best friends! We further that relationship between the Doctor and Yas that I know a lot of people cared about and invested in. I know I did.

Your current TV drama series, Cooper & Fry, is adapted from the novels of Stephen Booth about an odd couple of Peak District detectives. Are you an avid reader?

I started reading self-help books as an adult and everyone was like, “Are you OK?” Now I’m reading what I would call “warm books” – self-help, but much warmer. One of my favourites is The Comfort Book by Matt Haig. I read the little paragraph or chapter that’s in there for the day. And I adore a book where you believe the characters are real, like Chris Chibnall’s Death at the White Hart, which I’ve almost finished, and Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train.

There are 18 novels in Booth’s Cooper & Fry series. This could be a long job…

We’ve adapted four of the early books so far and they’re each 120 minutes long, so essentially they’re little films. I play Diane Fry and Rob James-Collier plays Ben Cooper. The characters are quite different in the way they approach investigations, but they both have issues in their personal lives and neither of them wants to give anything away. They both care about people and their work.

What makes it more than just another detective show?

It explores the folklore and superstitions of these rural communities. And although we filmed in Ireland, the Peak District and the countryside play a big part in how murders are committed – the equipment and the animals they have to hand…

Do you like the countryside?

I was born and lived in Leeds until I was 12 or 13 when we moved to the outskirts, and I’ve lived in London for the past 10 years, with stints in Cardiff. I’m a city girl. I’m a people watcher, I’m nosy and I like life noisy.

You’ve never played a villain. Why is that?

It’s not how people see me, although I’d love to play a baddie. I absolutely have it in me to play someone evil.

The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.

Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Add Doctor Who to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.