New Doctor Who assistant Yasmin Finney has set her sights on becoming the first transgender Bond girl.
The 18-year-old – who will play Rose Tyler alongside new Time Lord, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa – said: “I would love to be a trans Bond girl or just a Bond girl in general. I love James Bond.
“Every time I watch a Bond film, I think I would love to be that cool, sexy Bond girl that has never been done before.”
Yasmin says she was inspired by Caroline Cossey, who appeared as an extra in the 1981 Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.
Caroline, now 60, was afterwards outed as trans by a newspaper, and later told how she contemplated suicide when her gender identity was exposed. She went on to become the first trans woman to pose for Playboy in 1991.
Yasmin – who is known for her role as Elle Argent in the Netflix series Heartstopper – tells me: “Shoutout to Caroline. She has inspired me in a way to be the positive representation that James Bond never had.
“There are people in the industry that were transphobic, but now they aren’t because of the way things are changing. I’d rather not fight it and be a part of it.”
Yasmin also says she is a massive fan of Daniel Craig and tells how Oscar-winner Sam Smith is now one of her biggest fans. She says: “Sam followed me the other day. They were someone I would listen to in school when I was getting bullied.”
Yasmin proudly collected the Attitude Pride Icon 2022 award, supported by Magnum, at Attitude magazine’s Pride Awards at London’s Langham hotel on Thursday.
She said at the time: “I feel so honoured to be seen as a queer person in general and to be here on the stage is a step forward to opening doors for other trans people in the industry.”