Doctor(s): 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi)
Traveled: 2017
Actor: Pearl Mackie (born 29 May 1987)
Episodes & Stories
The Pilot (introduced) through World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls (departure), the entirety of Series 10.
Personality
A warm, openly gay university canteen worker who audits the Doctor’s lectures out of curiosity, Bill is inquisitive, funny and refreshingly down-to-earth.
Interesting Facts
- Bill was the first companion explicitly established as gay from her introduction.
- Her Series 10 arc involves one of the more harrowing companion fates: partial Cyberman conversion before being rescued.
- Pearl Mackie left acting soon after Doctor Who to pursue stage work before returning to screen roles.
What Happened to the Character
In The Doctor Falls (2017), a partially Cyber-converted Bill is transformed into a fully human, immortal, shape-shifting being by her old crush Heather; the two leave to travel time and space together.
The Actor Today
Pearl Mackie has continued acting on stage and screen, including The Diplomat, and married in 2024.