Characters / Heartstopper The Paris Squad

Heartstopper Main Characters IndexProtagonists | The Paris Squad | Family Members | Antagonists and Minor Characters

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The Paris Squad (gang)

Main characters (from left to right): Aled, Elle, Nick, Charlie, Tara, Darcy, Tao with Tori in addition.

Tao Xu

Tao Xu

Tao is Charlie's Best Friend, a long-time good friend of Aled and Elle and the latter's boyfriend. He's extroverted, unfortunately talks too loudly, and can be very harsh when he wants to protect his friends to show he deeply cares for them. He loves wearing beanies.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Elle occasionally calls him "Tiny Tao" because of his short arms.
• The Atoner: He accidentally outed Charlie and kickstarted all the homophobic bullying he went through, which is the reason why he's so protective of him now.
• Big Eater: Downplayed He never misses an opportunity to eat, especially if it's his girlfriend's food, but he stays reasonable.
• Defrosting Ice King: Tao is initially deeply mistrustful of Nick as he believes that Nick is only toying with Charlie's feelings. He comes around.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Has this dynamic with Elle, who loves to rib him about how short he is.
• Token Cishet: The only friend group member not said to be queer.

Tara Jones

Tara Jones

Tara (right) in love with her girlfriend Darcy

Tara is an introverted lesbian, a very empathetic and attentive friend. She's studious and wants to become a doctor. However, she has little tolerance for people's, especially straight ones, ignorance. She plays clarinet and met her girlfriend, Darcy, at Higgs orchestra. She has supportive parents she's out to.

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• Affectionate Nickname: Darcy calls her "Jonesy".
• Dainty Little Ballet Dancers: Loves ballet according to her character profile and is graceful and feminine.
• Deadpan Snarker: Usually in response to Darcy's antics.
• Incompatible Orientation: The reason why Nick's crush on her went nowhere.
• Lipstick Lesbian: She's distinctly more feminine than her girlfriend is.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The introverted and sensible blue to Darcy's outgoing and impulsive red.

Darcy Olsson

Darcy Olsson

Darcy (left) with her girlfriend Tara

A very extroverted lesbian blonde teen who chats a lot with everybody and deeply cares for her friends and her girlfriend Tara. They met at Higgs orchestra where she plays in brass section. Her parents are said to be really homophobic and judgemental.

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• Bully Hunter: Very protective of her friends, she has no tolerance for people harassing them or being mean in any way.
• The Gadfly: Likes playfully pranking and ribbing others, presumably for attention. She blows a trumpet in Tara's ear, asks Mr. Farouk a couple of inane questions on the Paris trip ("Mr. Farouk, is pizza French?"), and posts an unflattering picture of Tara on her Instagram.
• Genki Girl: She always has lots of energy and enthusiasm, loves talking, is rather quirky, easygoing, chaotic, and may be hyperactive.
• Hard-Drinking Party Girl: When she brought a bottle of vodka at her girlfriend's sixteenth birthday party and ended up drunk.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The outgoing and impulsive red to Tara's introverted and sensible blue.
• Stepford Smiler: Tara states her to somewhat be this. While she is always cheerful and hyperactive, she's also subject to verbal and emotional abuse by her homophobic parents.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Darcy is very loud, outwardly confident (sometimes to the point of stupidity), boisterous, and straightforward, has chin-length hair and stated in a character Q&A that she hates wearing dresses. That said, she does still make an effort when it comes to dressing for social occasions.
• True Art Is Boring: Genuinely thinks that and dislikes museums.

Elle Argent

Elle Argent

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A sweet, caring, and cheerful trans girl who loves art, books designing clothes, and baking. She's part of the Paris squad, a Tao, Aled and Charlie's long-time friend, Tao's Love Interest and eventually his girlfriend. She's one of the few characters who wears glasses. Her parents, Mariam and Richard, are very fond, supportive, loving but a bit overprotective and embarrassing.

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• Ambiguously Brown: Averted Her mother hails from Egypt.
• The Gadfly: She enjoys lovingly teasing Tao about his appetite and Charlie about his love life (in a nice way).
• Girly Girl: She likes wearing feminine clothes such as dresses, necklaces, and straw hats, tends to blush a lot, is calm, caring, and seems to like expressing her girly side.
• Letting Her Hair Down: When she feels relaxed, she tends to loosen her hair much to Tao's delight.
• Quirky Curls: She has curly brown hair that she likes to wear in pigtails.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: Elle is distinctly taller than Tao, and she loves to playfully rub it in his face.
• Trans Tribulations: She suffered transphobic bullying at Truham before she transferred to Higgs, feels uncomfortable wearing a swimsuit, and hasn't been to visit her grandparents in Egypt for 4 years because of just how unsafe a country it is for trans people.

Aled Last

Aled Ethan Last

Aled is a long-time good friend of Charlie, Tao, and Elle thereafter. He's really shy and quiet.

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• Hero of Another Story: He is the second main character in Radio Silence.
• The Quiet One

Sahar Zahid

Sahar Zahid

A young Pakistani Muslim girl who became friends with Darcy, Tara, and Elle after sharing their room in Paris.

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• Ambiguously Brown: Averted She comes from Pakistan.