– and what little she has to say about her casting only confuses matters further. “I didn’t know for a long time,” she says over Zoom, through curtains of sleek blond hair, “but Iknow. I don’t want to give too much away.” My chances of gleaning anything meaningful seem practically zero.
Finney fully appreciates Davies’ significance: “I am in awe of the fact that I’ve been seen by such a legend.” In fact, her only source of stress has been a very pleasant one: “I was worried about having two huge fanbases following me and whether they’d get along.
At the time of her audition Finney was studying drama at college, but had little hope of making it. “I was like, ‘There’s no trans roles, there’s nothing. I’m basically setting myself up to fail.’ I didn’t see myself reflected in the UK media anywhere.” Instead, she intended to “just do TikTok for the rest of my life”. That said, TikTok was not an entirely pleasant experience. Although Finney had a supportive fanbase, the response from strangers was brutal.
As Heartstopper fans will have gleaned, Finney’s experience differed from Elle’s. There is some homophobia in the Heartstopper universe but it’s generally a sunny and accepting place where Elle’s trans identity is largely unremarked upon. “It’s such a breath of fresh air,” says Finney. “Elle’s isn’t like any other trans story we’ve seen before – because it’s not focused on gender dysphoria or bullying. It’s something the little Yasmins can watch and think, ‘If Elle can do it, I can do it.
The next Dr. is likely to be a Golden Retriever or a hairless cat.
She’ll always be Elle to me ♥️
She’s beautiful 😍
how did she remove the beard roots?