Heartstopper season three artwork / Netflix
Olivia Colman’s character has officially been recast in the upcoming Heartstopper finale, Netflix has confirmed.
The Oscar-winning actress played the role of Sarah Nelson – mother to Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) – for the show’s first two seasons but was unable to appear in the third due to other filming commitments.
The show is wrapping up this year with a feature-length film, Heartstopper Forever, in which the character of Sarah will now be played by Anna Maxwell Martin.
Veteran British actor Derek Jacobi is also new to the cast in an undisclosed cameo role.
Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman told TUDUM: “I am so excited that so many of Heartstopper’s cast have returned and will appear in the feature film finale. It is a delight to introduce two new members of the Heartstopper family — two icons of British stage and screen — Anna Maxwell Martin as Sarah Nelson and Derek Jacobi in a cameo role.
“When beginning to work on the Heartstopper Forever screenplay, I knew how important it was that Sarah, Nick’s mum, appeared in the story. Since Season 1, we have seen how close Nick is with his mum; she’s one of the few people he can turn to in moments of crisis. While in Season 3, we were able to tweak the story to avoid any appearance of Sarah, it felt nonsensical for her to be absent from this final chapter, given some of the emotional struggles Nick faces.
“Sadly, Olivia Colman was not able to join us for the film, so we made the very difficult decision to recast the role, rather than exclude the character. We are deeply grateful for Olivia’s beautiful performance as Sarah in Seasons 1 and 2 of Heartstopper, through such iconic moments as Nick coming out as bisexual, and we know that her performance will live on in the hearts of every Heartstopper fan.
“We are overjoyed to welcome the incredible Anna Maxwell Martin into the role of Sarah for Heartstopper Forever. Anna perfectly embodies Sarah’s gentle, down-to-earth energy, and it was magical to witness her scenes with Kit Connor during the film shoot. I can’t wait for Heartstopper fans to experience her interpretation of Sarah Nelson.”
Heartstopper Forever will be released on Netflix later this year.
