The latest season of Heartstopper might be one Oscar winner down thanks to Olivia Colman’s absence, but they’ve more than made up for it with new additions to the cast.
In Olivia’s place, Nick’s aunt is introduced into the mix, played by Hayley Atwell, while Back To Black and Vera Drake star Eddie Marsan joins the show as Charlie’s therapist.
And that’s without even mentioning the brief cameo from a certain Jonathan Bailey, who had apparently been eyeing a role in Heartstopper since it started.
Over the years, Heartstopper has packed in surprise cameos, including Stephen Fry as the headmaster of the gang’s school and Call My Agent!’s Thibault de Montalembert as Nick’s dad.
But it turns out there’s one A-list cameo the show hasn’t quite been able to make happen. At least, not yet.
During an interview with HuffPost UK earlier this year, Kit Connor and Joe Locke were asked to name their dream Heartstopper guest stars, with the former saying: “Someone like Sir Ian McKellen or someone like that would be pretty iconic.”
Turning to his co-star, Kit asked: “Am I wrong in saying there was a point where, like, they were kind of hoping to try and get him? But he’s a busy man.”
Joe agreed, with Kit adding: “I wouldn’t be surprised if they did because he’s such a legend.”
All we can say is, fingers crossed for season four.
Elsewhere in the interview, Kit voiced his disappointment that his on-screen mum wasn’t able to appear in season three.
“It’s Olivia Colman, you want her to be a part of everything you do,” he remarked.
“When I’m making my breakfast in the morning I wish that she was there. She’s a great loss whenever she’s not there.”
But he was also quick to praise new addition Hayley, adding: “To have her this season was also a real, real joy and pleasure.”
All three seasons of Heartstopper are now available to stream on Netflix.