Mandip Gill, who played Thirteenth Doctor companion, Yasmin Khan — or Yaz to her friends — has been awarded an honorary fellowship for her contribution to acting.

Gill studied BA Hons Acting at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston between 2006 and 2009, and now has been recognised by the institution for her TV and theatre career.

She said:

“It’s an absolute honour to be recognised for my career. Everyone does their degree and you go off and hope that you get work after, so it just feels like an honour to celebrate something I absolutely love and have worked so hard towards.

“Over the years I have repeatedly talked about the importance of my education on my career. I can honestly say without the University of Central Lancashire it would have been a very different journey into the business.”

Though we know Mandip best as Yaz, she’s also been in Hollyoaks, Suspicion, and This Time Next Year, as well as appearing on stage in 2:22: A Ghost Story, Britannia Waves the Rules, and Crystal Kisses.

And Thirteenth Doctor fans will be pleased to hear that we’ll get more adventures with Yaz and Jodie’s Doctor, as they’re reuniting for 12 hour-long stories from Big Finish next year!