Global success, critical acclaim and multiple award wins; after 24 episodes, Heartstopper fans are waving goodbye to Nick and Charlie’s love story with a feature-length film out now on Netflix. While the impact on its audience is clear, Cosmopolitan UK took an exclusive trip to the Heartstopper Forever set during filming to find out what mark the franchise has left on its cast…
Stepping into the kitchen, a heavy bass reverberates around the room. Bottles clink in hands, red cups crowd the tables; a half-finished game of beer pong left in the chaos. Fairy lights flicker overhead. I slip past a group of girls by the fridge, their chatter rising over the music. For a moment, I am back at a Year 13 house party – warm, chaotic and alive.
Only, it’s actually a sunny Wednesday afternoon in July and I’m at Bray Studios just outside of London. Behind the main sound stages sits a location house, unremarkable to look at, but bursting with energy inside. Because this is the set of one of Heartstopper Forever’s key scenes: a party celebrating Charlie being named Head Boy at Truham Grammar School.
When Heartstopper debuted on Netflix in April 2022, it arrived quietly. Adapted from Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, the series follows Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) as friendship blossoms into romance. ‘It was a miracle we were even able to make it,’ Connor recalls now, reflecting on how rare shows celebrating queer joy so unapologetically were at the time. And yet, it didn’t take long for the show’s impact to be felt; the first season was viewed for more than 14.5 million hours in its first week, reaching the top 10 chart in 54 countries.
Rather than a fourth season, the story concludes on a bigger canvas. Heartstopper Forever is a feature-length farewell, giving Nick and Charlie the send-off they deserve. And, for the first time, Connor and Locke serve as executive producers. ‘Being able to say goodbye to these characters in the right way feels really important,’ Connor says, with Locke adding, ‘We’ve grown up on this show, and shaping this moment feels special. It’s weird when something has been such an integral part of your life for five years, [but I know] Charlie will always stay with me.’
We’ve moved upstairs in the location house, and with the music humming faintly through the floorboards, it feels like we’ve snuck away from the main party for a DMC. Connor acknowledges the sentimental atmosphere, ‘We’ve kind of become the people we are on this show. There have been moments on this job where I’ve had little flutters of emotion. Will [Gao] and I filmed our last proper scene together the other day and I was like, “Oh… this is actually really upsetting.”’
Having navigated their late teens together on screen, the emotional attachment clearly extends far beyond the characters themselves. ‘It’s even more than friendship,’ Locke says. ‘It genuinely feels like family.’ Connor laughs as he tells me about the cast’s newly formed WhatsApp group ‘Dinner at Fisayo’s’, named after an evening spent at co-star Fisayo Akinade’s house. ‘I genuinely think we’ll still be in each other’s lives in 10 years’ time,’ he says.
The pair are reflective on Heartstopper’s journey so far. ‘When it came out, some people acted like equality had been achieved,’ Connor says now. ‘If you’re queer, you know that’s not true. What it gave was comfort, a world where you’re not treated as “other”.’ Locke nods. ‘The world feels scarier now than it did four years ago. Maybe that makes Heartstopper even more necessary. Media like this makes people feel seen.’
Minutes later, the pair are called back downstairs for another take, and I’m abruptly reminded I’m on a film set and not living inside the Heartstopper universe. Yasmin Finney and William Gao arrive as Connor and Locke disappear back into the house party chaos. Finney, who plays Elle Argent, speaks candidly about how intertwined the role has become with her own life. ‘Getting [cast in] Heartstopper changed everything for me,’ she says. ‘I went from having no acting experience to playing a trans character who honestly helped me through my own transition.’ Beside her, Gao reflects on how the show has evolved alongside its audience. ‘I would’ve loved to have had a show like this growing up,’ he says. ‘It would’ve made a lot of things clearer.’
As I head out to the garden, I catch Connor and Locke laughing together between takes. Their friendship on and off screen is what made viewers embrace Nick and Charlie and what Heartstopper Forever will no doubt deliver in droves.
Heartstopper Forever is streaming on Netflix from 17th July.
