London: The new Dr Who, the first woman after 12 male Time Lords, is to have three new companions, one of them an Indian-origin actress, the BBC announced on Monday.

Jodie Whittaker will be joined on the cult science fiction series by Mandip Gill, Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole.

The casting indicates the BBC is resolved to bring about radical changes in meeting its declared aims in achieving diversity so far as gender and ethnicity are concerned.

Mandip, 29, who was born and brought up in Leeds, will play a character called Yasmin and be a regular on the show that is seen across the world.

Mandip, who has been getting reasonable parts in various television soaps and dramas, is now catapulted into the big time.

"I am over the moon to be joining the Doctor Who family," she said. "This is an iconic show with an amazing fanbase and I look forward to everything that it brings."

She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in 2009 with a BA (Hons) in acting.

Terence Chapman, who was her tutor, recalled Mandip's first screen appearance at university: "It was clear from Mandip's assessment, during her 'Acting for the Camera' module that Mandip was very natural in front of the camera. For us, that natural quality, along with her technical ability and positive outlook meant that it was only a matter of time before we would see her on our TV screens. This is great for Mandip and we are very proud to see one of our recent graduates doing so well in such a competitive profession."

The new series will be a 10-week run of 50-minute episodes in autumn 2018, kicking off with a feature length hour for the opening launch.