“Never Say Never” Says Jodie Whittaker on Thirteen/Yaz Doctor Who Kiss 

As much as classic Doctor Who fans hate to admit it, romantic tension between the Doctor and their companions is part of the formula. Eight was a dashing lead alongside Grace Holloway, Ten and Rose’s love story has been well documented, while Fifteen’s flirtation with almost-companion Rogue has us hoping that Jonathan Groff will board the TARDIS again. And heck, long-time Whovians know all about the behind-the-scenes marriage of Four and Romana II.

So it’s understandable that some fans feel a bit of disappointment about the way things ended up between Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor and Yaz, her most consistent companion. Despite the clear attraction between the two, Thirteen regenerated into David Tennant’s Fourteen before they could act on their feelings.

Whittaker has a message for those longing for more pining between the Doctor and Yaz: “[N]ever say never! We’ve got adventures to do.” Whittaker made that declaration to the Radio Times, where she and Yaz performer Mandip Gill dropped by to promote their upcoming audio adventures for Big Finish. “We could be [kissing] in the background,” she quipped.

Like many Doctors before her, Whittaker comes to Big Finish to flesh out the adventures between her first appearance in “Twice Upon a Time” and her own regeneration in “The Power of the Doctor.” Big Finish previously allowed Colin Baker’s ill-fated sixth Doctor to become the complex character he was intended to be, and allowed Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor a chance to cement himself in the fandom beyond the divisive 1996 TV Movie.

The duo isn’t ready to give many details about their first adventure, with Whittaker just saying that they are “kind of isolated stories” that don’t really focus on “the Doctor and Yaz’s relationship.” However, she’s quick to point out that the adventures just mean that the Doctor and Yaz will grow closer. “It’s these guys on their travels, what they come across, and their natural banter and rhythm between each other, but then also the protectiveness that they both have for each other,” she said.

Gill took it even further to say that these adventures give the actors and the writers, “time to explore.”

Despite that tease, neither Whittaker nor Gill feel regret about how things ended up in “The Power of the Doctor,” their last episode together. “I’m quite protective over it,” Whittaker says of her screen ending. “It was a really beautiful thing, particularly the scenes in the TARDIS – they were really wonderful to shoot, because that was our last day.”

While she would like to explore the romance between Yaz and the Doctor, Gill also doesn’t see “The Power of the Doctor” as a lesser ending. “I don’t think of it as another version. That is the version. That’s where we left it. That’s how it happened,” she said.

And for her, that’s a good thing. “I’m not entirely sad [that there wasn’t a kiss] because Jodie doesn’t moisturise her lips,” she teased. Hopefully, the Big Finish adventures will give 13 time to put together a moisturizing routine.

Doctor Who Series 14 is now streaming on Disney+ and BBC iPlayer.