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. Black had a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide on several occasions. She has described her attempts in detail. She then came out to her family twice: first as a trans woman, and then as a lesbian. Black underwent sex reassignment surgery and discusses her transition in her stand-up act.

Originally, she was hesitant about entering stand-up because she felt that the best comedians were older people. However, Black changed her mind after seeing Josie Long, someone younger than her, perform successfully while using material similar to her own. 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. She also became a supporting act for other comedians such as Mick Miller and attracted positive reviews from other comedians such as Brendon Burns. 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. She had previously resisted performing material about her life story for fear of how her audience would react. However, the show went down well with most of the audience. 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.

Black reached the final of "2006 Funny Bones New Comedian of the Year" competition, the Chortle Student Comedy Awards in 2007, and was nominated for the "Best Debut" award at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2008.

While many reviewers believed that Black would be a successful comedian in the future, her act was criticized. The U.K. Comedy Guide Chortle.co.uk wrote in October 2006 that "Bethany's by no means the finished product, remaining entertaining rather than a must-see, but she seems to be in possession of all the comic tools it'll take to get her there – most crucially a sharp tongue and an engaging personality you'd like to hear more from."

Yve Ngoo from BBC Tyne said in November 2006 that, "A seductively intriguing cross between Marilyn Manson and Corrie's Hayley Cropper (I'm alluding to ambiguous androgyny), Bethany's material is as black as her eye shadow and her delivery as dead-pan as a Goth at a garden centre."