Latest news with #WhatItFeelsLikeforaGirl
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Meet What It Feels Like For A Girl creator as BBC trans drama is praised by fans
BBC's What It Feels Like For A Girl has been praised by critics for being bold and unapologetic, but who is the LGBTQ+ activist and writer behind it, and where can you watch more episodes BBC's new show What It Feels Like For A Girl has just landed ready for London's Pride - but who is the writer who's memoir it's based on? The memoir-turned-TV-show is a 'coming of age' eight-part series set in Nottingham in the early 2000's which dives into the universal feeling of 'being stuck' as a young person growing up in a small unchanged town. The show follows trans teenager Byron, played by breakout star Ellis Howard, who lives in a suffocating home with an abusive father. Finding solace with a group called The Fallen Divas, he is eventually led into exploitative sex work. Following shocking events, Byron, assigned male at birth, transitions into a woman. RadioTimes reported creator Paris Lee asking: "Who can't identify with that feeling of being stuck when you are younger, trying to figure things out?". The author decided "it was important to show the journey of Byron, owning their sexuality and trying to discover their sexuality whilst figuring out their gender." . Unapologetically, the working-class experience appears integral to Lee's adaption, where she said: "This is a working-class story. This isn't a cosy middle-class drama. There are plenty of those on television, this offers something different". Who is Paris Lees? An accomplished presenter and journalist, Paris Lees, 38, is the author behind the 2021 memoir What It Feels Like for a Girl, now a series adaption on exploring gender identity, sexuality, class and relationships. Widely published, Lees has written for Vogue, Gay Times, PinkNews, Diva, and Vice, to name a few. Notably, the LGBTQ+ activist founded META, Britain's first magazine focused on the trans community, and became the first trans woman to present on BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4, and the first openly transgender panellist on Question Time. Lees - from Hucknall, Nottinghamshire - produced insightful documentaries The Hate Debate and My Transgender Punk Rock Story, exploring trans experience. Who is Ellis Howard? Ellis Howard is a 28-year-old Liverpudlian who plays Byron in What It Feels Like For A Girl. With dreams of his name "to be uttered anywhere near Jodie Comer or Stephen Graham," the actor is on his way up as Lee's lead in BBC's newest and more 'out-there than usual' show. After a five-stage audition, Howard became the perfect choice to present the experience of being working class, queer, and transitioning later in life. Speaking to The Standard, he said: "It doesn't feel like a BBC show. It feels very dangerous in its proposition. It's a valiant cry from a council estate. It's unashamed, and unrelenting. I thought, 'Whoa. I can't believe they're making this. I just have to be involved in any way, shape or form.'" Where can you watch What It Feels Like For A Girl All episodes of What It Feels Like To Be A Girl are available on BBC iPlayer, as the first two episodes already broadcasted on BBC Three and BBC One. The third instalment will air on June 10 at 9pm on BBC Three.
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
This 'Thrilling' New BBC Drama Is Your Next Binge-Watch
The new BBC drama What It Feels Like For A Girl is already generating a lot of conversation. Based on the memoir of the same name by journalist, presenter and transgender activist Paris Lees, the coming-of-age comedy-drama centres around teenage Byron as they navigate the many highs and lows of growing up queer in the East Midlands in the 2000s, and how their life changes as they find their own tribe. Over the course of it eight episodes, What It Feels Like For A Girl tackles heavy subjects like gender identity, sex, class and the importance of community and chosen family for queer people, and is already being hailed as 'totally fearless', 'raw' and 'essential viewing'. Here's a selection of why the BBC series is being called a must-watch … The Guardian (4/5) 'It's certainly a wild ride – I'll struggle to look at a toilet brush the same way ever again – but if you stay on board until the end, a memorably complex psychological portrait will be your reward.' The Independent (4/5) 'At a time when the trans community are being forced to suffer almost daily indignities at the hands of Britain's political and media establishment, the presence of What It Feels Like for a Girl feels urgent [...] in a world where it is easy to feel pessimistic about the course of progress, What It Feels Like for a Girl presents an engaging – and rational – case for optimism.' The Standard (4/5) 'For A Girl doesn't gloss over the messy bits. There's a lot of sex, drugs, and 2000s dance music. Scenes with predatory older men, from dirty doggers to corrupt coppers, are harrowing for the most part. But it also thrills with its portrayal of teenage transgression.' 'Make no mistake, What It Feels Like for a Girl is raw and frequently uncomfortable viewing [...] Yet the unease is what makes What It Feels Like for a Girl such a visceral, essential watch. We need more TV like it.' The Times (4/5) 'This series is very bingeable. It is funny, heartbreaking, occasionally disturbing, sharply written and well acted, most notably by Ellis Howard, who plays Byron with wit and, at times, devastating poignancy [...] Thisis a raw drama that could easily have been depressing (and at times it is), but ends up ultimately being a buoyant story of resilience.' 'While the drama doesn't fall into the trap of educating or being overtly political, it's an overdue examination of how being lower class intersects with sexuality and gender identity… while also being an utter riot.' Digital Spy 'We need more shows like this, singular outlooks that give a voice and artistic vision to communities long underserved on screen. That's especially true at a time when trans rights are being threatened even more than they were 25 years ago, in the time this show is set. 'To see not just trans pain, but trans joy, trans love and, most crucially, trans acceptance on a platform as widely viewed as the BBC will be nothing short of life-saving right now. This is 2025′s answer to It's a Sin, yet it's even more vital than that show in many ways. Another queer masterpiece that holds the potential for real-world change.' '[ What It Feels Like For A Girl ] pulls no punches […] the series is a raw, hedonistic, brutal – but often hilarious – tale of Byron, a 15-year-old boy who is trying to find his identity and is desperate to escape the small-mindedness of his home town.' Help and support:
Metro
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
BBC fans urge people to watch ‘amazing' trans teen drama
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video BBC Three's inspirational new coming-of-age drama, What It Feels Like For A Girl, has seriously impressed viewers. The eight-episode series, set at the turn of the millennium, is based on the acclaimed memoir by author and trans rights campaigner Paris Lees. For those looking for some Y2K nostalgia, this is your easy fix with retro outfits, cultural references and a killer soundtrack to take you right back. Think those hazy Blair-Brown days when shows like Queer As Folk offered snatches of LGBTQ+ visbility for the community and mainstream trans representation was sparse. The synopsis for the East Midlands-based show reads: 'To find yourself, sometimes you need to lose yourself. It's Y2K, and Byron's flirting with discovery and destruction, love and anarchy. ' Played by Ellis Howard, the show follows Byron as they escape into Nottingham's queer underbelly and discover a vibrant found family in friends, Sasha (Hannah Jones) and Lady Die (Laquarn Lewis) aka Fallen Dives in the club scene. The series also stars Calam Lynch, Laura Haddock, Hannah Walters and Michael Socha. It is already being praised by fans on X. 'First 2 episodes boxed off. That was actually very, very good!' Roscoe Barnes wrote. 'I loved the first 2 episodes of the new #LGBTQ series What It Feels Like For A Girl and I can't wait to see how the story develops,' phdev85 shared. 'Only 5 mins into What It Feels Like For A Girl and I feel homesick, it's already bringing back memories as a young Arnold quiche from the early noughties hanging around NG1/AD2 – thank you x' cp83 added. 'The level of talent of Ellis and Jake in this show….wowwwwwww,' yram praised. 'Just started watching today and it's soooo good!!! Jake Dunn you were born to play a villain. The whole cast is amazing too,' dreedreexo said. 'The 'queer as folk' for a new generation,' OliReading dubbed it. The show has also been lauded by critics as a beacon of trans visibility during a time when the marginalised community is under immense scrutiny. 'It's certainly a wild ride- I'll struggle to look at a toilet brush the same way ever again – but if you stay on board until the end, a memorably complex psychological portrait will be your reward,' The Guardian intriguingly teased. The Independent echoed: 'In a world where it is easy to feel pessimistic about the course of progress, What It Feels Like for a Girl presents an engaging – and rational – case for optimism.' 'Make no mistake, What It Feels Like for a Girl is raw and frequently uncomfortable viewing…. Yet the unease is what makes What It Feels Like for a Girl such a visceral, essential watch. We need more TV like it,' PinkNews shared. GQ called it 'gnarly and brutally honest', The Times praised it as 'raw and funny', and the i paper dubbed it an 'absolute riot'. In an interview with Metro, Jones reflected on what it meant to play a trans girl. '[Sasha] was just an unapologetic, gobby trans girl from the north. Fork found in kitchen,' she jokes. 'I had to do this for all the gobby, northern trans girls. She was great to play. More Trending 'Being trans is just a facet of her life; it just so happens that Sasha is trans. Her storyline is not trans trauma, her storyline is not a trans journey… It's her being horrible, being a sex worker, being a sister, being a best friend… 'All of this humanises the trans experience, and we've not had that before, and I think it's really important to do that right now for trans people who are struggling.' Dunn echoed: 'One of the gorgeous things about the show is the specificity of seeing life through Byron's eyes for eight hours, and with that comes really deeply rooted, authored representation of people who exist, who have existed, and who still exist… which I hope provides some solace.' View More » What It Feels Like For a Girl is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Gary Lineker agrees deal with new broadcaster after controversial BBC exit MORE: Call the Midwife rejects claim star was 'disrespected' before shock exit MORE: Race Across The World fans have limited time to apply for BBC series
