The BBC has announced that Bethany Black, of Cucumber and Banana fame, will appear in the upcoming ninth season of Doctor Who, thus making her the first openly trans actor to appear on the beloved sci-fi adventure program in the show's 52-year run.
"Now to sit back and wait until The Mail realises the BBC have cast an openly trans lesbian in a family show,"she wrote on Facebook, in reference to her guest spot.
So... Yeah... I got cast in Doctor Whohttps://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/reece-shearsmith-dw?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=gplus#DoctorWho
Posted by Bethany Black on Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Black played Helen Brears on Russell T. Davies' queer dramedies Cucumber and Banana, which Logo aired this year. It was Davies who helped reboot Doctor Who in 2005.
It's not clear yet whether her character on Who will be trans or not.
The new season premiers in September--September 9 in the UK, September 19 in the US--and Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman will be reprising their roles as the Doctor and his companion Clara.
[h/t NewNowNext]