Is Hayley Atwell replacing Olivia Colman in ‘Heartstopper’ season 3?

Heartstopper season 3 is pulling out all the stops when it comes to injecting new life into the Netflix smash. Not that we’re getting bored of Joe Locke’s Charlie and Kit Connor’s Nick in the slightest, but the streamer is adding a bunch of exciting new faces to the show for its next run.

Perhaps the most thrilling is Bridgerton icon Jonathan Bailey, playing a key character from the original graphic novels from creator Alice Oseman. Let’s not forget that Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) is also on board, as is Marvel legend and Mission: Impossible star Hayley Atwell. The one downside of season 3? Olivia Colman is confirmed to be a no-show as Nick’s mom.

From what we can gather, though, it sounds like Atwell has been brought on to fill Colman’s role in the series. Here’s how.

Hayley Atwell’s role in Heartstopper season 3, explained

According to official casting information, Atwell is joining Heartstopper season 3 to play Nick’s aunt Diane. It’s Diane who takes Nick on a summer vacation to Menorca in Spain and “has some tough advice to impart about his relationship with Charlie.”

At first glance, Heartstopper fans might think that Diane is an original creation for TV as the Menorca arc in the comics definitely doesn’t revolve around Nick’s relationship with his aunt. However, those with an encyclopedic knowledge of the graphic novels may recall that she is a minor character instead. With Colman being unable to return to due scheduling conflicts, it sounds a lot like Diane’s role has been bumped up.

In particular, the character description sure makes it sound like Diane has been given Nick’s mom’s role in the iconic “beach scene” from the books. Without getting into spoilers, as this scene is so intrinsic to Nick’s character development and the story’s core themes, fans were devastated at the idea of Colman’s exit meaning we were going to lose this sequence. So introducing Atwell as another maternal family member in Colman’s place was a smart workaround.

We don’t have as much invested interest in Nick’s relationship with his aunt, of course, but hopefully Atwell’s acting talent and the writing will ensure this arc remains just as powerful as it was on the page. Although Olivia Colman had better come back for season 4.