Yasmin Khan (Doctor Who)


Yasmin Khan, often shortened to Yaz, is a fictional character created by Chris Chibnall and portrayed by Mandip Gill in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the show's eleventh series, starting with the first episode, Yasmin serves as a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor, an incarnation of the alien time traveller known as the Doctor.

Appearances

Television

Yasmin Khan is introduced in the eleventh series premiere, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth". Yaz is a 19-year-old probationary police officer from Sheffield, England who is eager to prove herself. She attended primary school with Ryan Sinclair. She continues to live with her family in a flat, Park Hill. When she returns to her home in "Arachnids in the UK", she decides she wants to fully join the Doctor on her travels.
In "Demons of the Punjab" she asks the Doctor if she could go back in time to visit and learn about the life of her grandmother, Umbreen. Thinking she'll meet her grandfather, being given his broken watch, she finds him no-where. She decides to stay, despite the Doctor's warnings, becoming part of her grandmother's history during the Partition of India, where Umbreen's first husband died.
Yaz struggled with her mental health when she was younger and forced to have nightmares by the immortal Zellin about the day she ran away from home in " Can You Hear Me?". Three years on Yaz and Sonya mark the event with an anniversary dinner. Yaz was found on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere by a Police Officer after Sonya phoned them out of fear that Yaz would harm herself. The officer, Anita, talks to Yaz and proposes a bet with her about the choice she's making. She located Anita after the Doctor stopped the immortals from plaguing humans with nightmares as a gratuitous way of saying thank you.

Other media

In September 2018, three Series 11 tie-in novels were announced, all of which feature Yasmin Khan – The Good Doctor, Molten Heart and Combat Magicks. Yaz is depicted on the cover of Combat Magicks.

Casting and development

On 22 October 2017, it was announced that Gill had been cast as a companion in the eleventh series of Doctor Who, and would appear alongside Jodie Whittaker in 2018.
The character's mother, Najia Khan was introduced in the fourth episode of the series, "Arachnids in the UK".