Bethany Black

Bethany Black (born 24 December 1978) is an English stand up comedian, actress and writer. As a comedian, Black is described as "managing to balance dark-tinged comedy with being warm and chatty". As an actress, she is the first trans person to play a trans character in a British TV series and also the first openly trans actress in Doctor Who. Born in Chorley, Lancashire, Black had a challenging childhood, during which time she had depression. She attended Manchester Metropolitan University where she got a degree in film, television and cultural studies.

At the age of 25 she started her career, first as a compere for a music club in Preston called "Club Fuzzy", where she provided comedy between the music acts. After a hostile reaction, she then began performing in actual comedy clubs. Black adopted a "Fairy Gothmother" style, performing her routines dressed in black, with black eye shadow and sometimes wearing fetish clothing. Most of her comedy is a combination of observational comedy mixed with innuendo. Her career grew when in 2005 she opened the Manchester Pride festival. In 2007, she became a finalist in the Chortle Student Comedy Awards. In 2008, Black started performing her show "Beth Becomes Her", which tells the story of Black's childhood, and it was nominated for the award for "Best Debut" at the Leicester Comedy Festival. Black was diagnosed in 2018 with autism, ADHD, OCD, and agoraphobia; these diagnoses were prominently referenced in her show Unwinnable at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe later that year.

In 2011, Black co-founded Funny's Funny, a comedy organisation that set out to provide a free-entry comedy competition for female comedians. Black played Helen Brears in Channel 4 series Cucumber, which premiered in January 2015. She was also the protagonist of an episode of the E4 sister series Banana. On 14 November 2015, Black guest starred as 474 in the ninth episode of the ninth season of Doctor Who, "Sleep No More". On 21 November 2018 she appeared as a contestant on The Chase. She won the Best Dramatic Role For Banana at the Transgender Television Awards 2016.