A life-long fan of the show, Bethany is thrilled to have landed the part, "When I went down for the read through and saw my name on the table next to Jenna Coleman's it suddenly started to feel real. It is genuinely the greatest job I could ever have imagined getting. Everything about it is magical."
Viewers may remember the comedian from Russell T Davies' Channel 4 show 'Cucumber' earlier this year where she played Helen Brears, a straight transgender woman. Being an openly transgender actor herself, and the first to be cast in Doctor Who, Bethany also added “Now to sit back and wait until The Mail realises the BBC have cast an open trans lesbian in a family show.” to her Facebook page.
Speaking of RTD, he and David Tennant have been spotted in Cardiff this last week, and have both visited the set at least once according to rumours of Twitter. This isn't too out of the ordinary as many past companions have stopped by during Peter Capaldi's stint as the Doctor, and both Davies and Tennant are also friendly with Mark Gatiss who is the writer of the current episode being filmed, and of course RTD knows Bethany Black too.
Will there be a flashback to that day in Pompeii where we revisit these characters and are given the explanation, perhaps with Capaldi playing two roles in one episode? It's a very exciting prospect to say the least!
Of course, this is just rumour and fan speculation, and for those with their feet planted firmly on the ground there are other reasons for the pair to be holidaying in Wales at present. Including Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner's (who relaunched Doctor Who with Russell T Davies, and created Torchwood with him) new production company "Bad Wolf TV", which has offices in Cardiff. The four of them could be meeting in order to get the first project off the ground as they are known to work well together in the past.
