The new season of Doctor Who begins September 19 on BBC One, and we’ve been fielding guest star announcements all summer in anticipation of the premiere. We know Maisie Williams will drop by as a new-to-Who character, and season nine will also see the return of Reece Shearsmith. Now io9 reports that trans comedian and actress Bethany Black will guest star in an upcoming episode of Doctor Who.
Black is the first openly trans actress to be cast on the show, but she’s spent part of her career at least somewhat Who-adjacent: Black had a recurring role on former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies’ Banana and Cucumber, two companion shows about life for young and middle-aged LGBT people. No info has been released about who she’ll play on Who, but we do know that it will be a Mark Gatiss original.