Gender fluid actor Ruby Rose will play the first LGBT superhero to lead a TV series with her new role as Batwoman.

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The Australian star said that she was “thrilled and honoured” and “an emotional wreck” following news of the casting.

“This is a childhood dream,” Rose wrote on Instagram. “This is something I would have died to have seen on TV when I was a young member of the LGBT community who never felt represented on tv and felt alone and different. Thank you everyone. Thank you god.”

Batwoman – real name Kate Kane – will be introduced on US network The CW in a December crossover episode with its other DC Comics shows, including Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl.

A full Batwoman TV series, penned by The Vampire Diaries writer Caroline Dries, is currently in development and, if picked up, is expected to land in 2019 or 2020.

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The official log line for the show reads: “Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, she soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence.

“But don’t call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a saviour, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.”

It is unknown which channel will air the series in the UK, but Batwoman is likely to find a home on Sky1, alongside fellow DC heroes Supergirl and The Flash.

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Rose shot to fame after appearing as Stella Carlin in Orange is the New Black, and has since starred in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, John Wick: Chapter 2, and Pitch Perfect 3. She can next be seen in shark horror movie The Meg.

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