Olivia Colman’s Heartstopper Character Recast In New Spin-Off Film

Olivia Colman’s character in Heartstopper will be played by a different actor in the show’s upcoming film.

The Oscar winner received widespread praise for her portrayal of Nick’s mum, Sarah Nelson, in the first two seasons of the Netflix teen drama.

However, in its third iteration, Olivia was unable to appear, with Hayley Atwell instead appearing as Nick’s aunt, who served a maternal role in his life for these episodes.

Over the weekend, it was confirmed that in the forthcoming movie Heartstopper Forever, the character of Sarah has been completely recast due to Olivia’s unavailability.

In her absence, the role will now be played by Line Of Duty and Motherland star Anna Maxwell Martin.

Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman told Netflix’s Tudum: “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 one, 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 three, 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.”

They continued: “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 one and two 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.”

Joe Locke and Kit Connor share a kiss as Charlie and Nick in Heartstopper
Joe Locke and Kit Connor share a kiss as Charlie and Nick in Heartstopper

Samuel Dore/Netflix

Heartstopper Forever will premiere on Netflix later this year, and serve as the final outing for Nick and Charlie, played by Kit Connor and Joe Locke.

As well as the usual returning cast members, including Yasmin Finney and Will Gao, it’s been confirmed that Bafta winner Derek Jacobi will also be playing a new character in the film.

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Trump Once Again Threatened War Crimes On The Eve Of Iran Peace Talks — And His Lackey Has An Interesting Interpretation

White House Energy Secretary Chris Wright called President Donald Trump a “creative negotiator” when asked about his threats to “knock out every single” power plant and bridge in Iran.

As peace talks between the United States and Iran appear to be at a stalemate amid a tenuous ceasefire agreement and continued jockeying over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the president demanded Iran accept America’s terms or face his full wrath in a Sunday morning Truth Social post.

“NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump declared, calling the US’s diplomatic offer “very fair and reasonable.”

Asked if the president’s intimidation tactics could “complicate” negotiations with Iran during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” just hours later, Wright said he had full confidence in Trump.

“The president is using every way he can to get leverage over the regime and bring this conflict to an end,” he told host Shannon Bream. “He’s a creative negotiator, he uses pressure in different ways.”

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FOX NEWS SUNDAY: When the president talks about blowing up every power plant and bridge, how does complicate things?

CHRIS WRIGHT: He’s a creative negotiator pic.twitter.com/XsmrnxQvrZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 19, 2026

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FOX NEWS SUNDAY: When the president talks about blowing up every power plant and bridge, how does complicate things?

CHRIS WRIGHT: He’s a creative negotiator pic.twitter.com/XsmrnxQvrZ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 19, 2026

“He uses uncertainty in different ways and I think as you’ve seen in the last 16 months, generally it leads to good results,” the cabinet member went on. “I don’t think we’ll see any surprises here.”

Wright envisioned reaching a “nice end to this conflict,” which he said would rescue Iran’s regional neighbors from “constant terror” and also guarantee a free “flow of goods” through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Imagine a nuclear armed Iran, not far away from that reality,” he said. “This is going to put an end to it.”

Wright stuck by his support for Trump’s strategy in a separate Sunday interview on CNN, where host Jake Tapper asked the secretary if he was worried strikes on civilian infrastructure could “constitute a war crime.”

“The president is looking for maximum leverage,” he said, later adding, “No, I’m not worried about that.”

Earlier this month, Trump triggered international panic with a near-identical ultimatum, telling Iran to “open the fuckin’ Strait” of Hormuz within two days or find themselves “living in hell” via Truth Social.

After upping the ante with a post warning “a whole civilization will die tonight” just hours before his 8pm April 7 deadline, a two-week ceasefire was announced.

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