50 influential fictional women in nerd history

Bill Potts

Bill Potts is a biracial and openly gay companion with a cool denim jacket. What’s not to love? Doctor Who has started to really change its tone in these later years. For a long while, it was a white, male Doctor and his pretty companion in a mini-skirt taking on space while she was in love with him.

Once the show inserted Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, a shift occurred, specifically when Bill Potts came along as his companion. Bill brought a whole new level to the show that didn’t exist prior to her arrival. Her relationship with the Doctor made him a more understanding being on the whole. Simply having Bill be gay made her relationship with the Doctor completely different. There was never an episode where she flirted with him and made it seem as if they were going to date. In fact, she consistently labels him as her grandfather.

Bill is more than just a character who shows us the importance of representation. She’s also just an incredibly compassionate character who wants adventure and to learn more while still remaining true to herself. Bill Potts could have easily been a joke or just some cardboard cutout of a character, but she wasn’t. She was so full of life and that’s why we love her.