Young Sheldon's Paige Never Made It Into TBBT, But Had a Perfect Replacement

Young Sheldon, the prequel to CBS' The Big Bang Theory, proved to be an invaluable addition to the hit show, providing fans with lots of fascinating details about Sheldon Cooper and his upbringing. While adding depth to the character, the spin-off also showed that many of the anecdotes told by adult Shelly were actually massive exaggerations, as the characters in Young Sheldon don't really act the way he described them in TBBT.

But besides the many people Sheldon mentioned in Big Bang, the prequel has also introduced some new faces. Among them was Paige Swanson, the protagonist's peer and rival child prodigy. It's actually a great missed opportunity that Paige never made it into the main series, but there's actually one character who resembles her in many ways.

After her introduction in Season 2, McKenna Grace's Paige became an integral part of the story and Sheldon's life in general. Of course, Shelly was quite annoyed with another child genius at first, but as he got to know Paige better at Dr. Sturgis' urging, they've grown to be more like friends than rivals.

Eventually, Sheldon learned to understand Paige's problems and empathize with her, turning from a narcissistic, self-absorbed kid into a more thoughtful and compassionate teenager.

But despite playing such a crucial role in Sheldon's life, Paige was never mentioned by the protagonist in The Big Bang Theory. There's a very simple reason for that: she first appeared in the prequel's Season 2, which ran concurrently with TBBT's final chapter, so the writers were clearly more preoccupied with finishing the main storylines than introducing new ones.

However, you may remember one character from TBBT who was actually very similar to Paige, and whom Sheldon also regarded as a rival. This is Dr. Leslie Winkle, portrayed by Sara Gilbert — a colleague of Sheldon and Leonard at Caltech. Leslie worked with the latter in the same lab and had an on-and-off relationship with him.

While Sheldon and Leslie shared no animosity in the first season, they'd often exchange hurtful remarks in later installments. Leslie openly disliked Sheldon for his arrogance and viewed him as a creepy, passive-aggressive misogynist. Besides, both had little respect for each other as scientists, although they were obviously valued at Caltech.

The relationship between Leslie and Sheldon was amusing and could possibly give rise to some interesting character development, but sadly, Leslie was written off the script early on in the series. As Jessica Radloff's book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive Inside Story Of The Epic Hit Series reveals, the writers got rid of the character because she interfered with Leonard and Penny's budding romance.