2009 alumna Mandip Gill, who played a companion in the TV hit, received an Honorary Fellowship
A Doctor Who star returned to her former university to receive a special educational award.
Mandip Gill, who studied at the University of Central Lancashire between 2006 to 2009, received an Honorary Fellowship today, Thursday.
The award-winning acting alumna, who can list performances on some of the biggest television shows in the country on her CV, alongside leading a recent West End production, was recognised for her significant contribution to acting.
Mandip, who for three series played companion Yasmin Khan alongside the 13th Doctor Jodie Whittaker and fellow companion Bradley Walsh, 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.”
During her time on the iconic global hit, she won several awards, including the Breakout Talent prize in the 2018 Radio Times’ Readers Awards.
Her professional career started with several theatre productions and in 2012 Mandip landed her first major television role in Hollyoaks. She portrayed Phoebe McQueen in 242 episodes of Channel 4’s weekday soap opera.
"It’s an absolute honour to be recognised for my career"
— Mandip Gill, new University of Central Lancashire Honorary Fellow
Her other small screen appearances include Doctors, Casualty, The Good Karma Hospital, and Suspicion, while her vocal talent has led to her narrating several programmes.
In 2022, she returned to the stage and made her West End debut. She trod the boards in 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Criterion Theatre, where she played the lead role of Jenny.
Mandip, who accepted the award on the graduation stage from TV presenter and University Chancellor Ranvir Singh, commented: “It is truly an honour to be recognised for my career but it could never have happened without my education and especially without the University of Central Lancashire.
“The entertainment industry in the UK was not where it is now 15 years ago; it was not as open minded and forward thinking. The lecturers, Terrence Mann, Helen Tolson and the late Philip Wood need special mentions, helped me pick my battles as I prepared to leave my education as a working class, northern, woman of colour. They looked past all that and helped me realise my potential. They went above and beyond to prepare me for the industry.”
The actor has always kept in contact with the institution and has been happy discuss her experiences and offer her advice to the next generation of acting performers on multiple occasions.
She added: “Over the years I have repeatedly talked about the importance of my education on my career. The guidance and communication of the University didn’t stop the day I left, we have stayed in contact, often helping in one another where we can along the way. I can honestly say without the University of Central Lancashire it would have been a very different journey into the business.”
