'Doctor Who' twist unveils show's first ever black Doctor

This weekend’s episode of Doctor Who brought several surprising twists – not least the appearance of the show’s first black Doctor.

The episode saw Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor encounter a supposed Gloucester resident named Ruth.

However, Ruth isn’t all she seems and is eventually unveiled as a previously unseen regeneration of the Doctor, played by Holby City star Jo Martin, the first time the famous role has been played by a black person.

Read more: Jodie Whittaker hopes a female Doctor will not be headline news again

With Whittaker already confirmed for the next series, it is not certain if Martin’s Doctor is a one-off appearance, or if she will be a regular character or eventually take over the role.

You would assume there is surely only room for one Doctor at a time, and with the pair seemingly struggling to work together already, it’s certainly interesting to consider the direction in which show bosses will take the latest twist.

The role was played only by white male stars until 2017, when Whittaker took over from Peter Capaldi, a casting decision that led to a lot of debate.

Whittaker has previously said she hopes if a female is cast in the role after her, the actress following in her footsteps won’t face the same media scrutiny she did.

She told The Big Issue last year: "The gender question is now going away. Hopefully it won't make the news next time."

Read more: Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker now an actual doctor

The episode also saw the return of previous show favourite John Barrowman, who reprised his role of Captain Jack Harkness.

Barrowman was something of a groundbreaker himself in the Doctor Who world, as he played the show’s first ever openly non-heterosexual character.

Barrowman, currently a judge on Dancing On Ice, has not confirmed if he will return to the role again, though he has said that if asked he’d be back “at the drop of a hat”.

Doctor Who continues on Sunday at 6pm on BBC One.