What It Feels Like For A Girl: Cast of BBC’s new trans drama series unveiled
Laquarn Lewis as Lady Die; Hannah Jones as Sasha; Ellis Howard as Byron; Alex Thomas-Smith as Sticky Nikki; Adam Ali as Dirty Damian (Hera Pictures/BBC/Photographer: Enda Bowe)
Laquarn Lewis as Lady Die; Hannah Jones as Sasha; Ellis Howard as Byron; Alex Thomas-Smith as Sticky Nikki; Adam Ali as Dirty Damian (Hera Pictures/BBC/Photographer: Enda Bowe)
The cast for the upcoming series What It Feels Like For A Girl has been unveiled.
Early pictures of the coming-of-age drama, based on Paris Lees’ acclaimed memoir, have also been published. The series will follow Byron, played by Ellis Howard, growing up in Nottingham in the 00s.
The memoir was hailed by The Guardian as a “black comedy from a fresh perspective” and “a rare portal into the British trans experience”, when it was published in 2021. The series is described as “a raw, heart-breaking and hilarious drama that explores escape, self-discovery and self-destruction”.
A BBC spokesperson said: “It’s a new millennium and there’s a whole world to explore but teenager Byron is stuck in a small, working-class town that hasn’t been the same since the coal mine shut in the 80s.
“Byron needs to get away and doesn’t care how.
“Life explodes in a rush when Byron escapes to Nottingham’s vibrant underworld, discovering a realm of drink, drugs and a gang of kindred spirits in Lady Die, Sticky Nikki and Dirty Damian. Meanwhile, an intense rivalry brews between the newcomer and the beautiful but acid-tongued Sasha.
“Between them, they beg, steal and skank their way on a rollercoaster ride of hedonism at the heart of the UK’s early 2000s club scene. But after Byron is seduced by bad-boy Liam, a shocking encounter occurs that will change life forever.”
The cast also includes Hannah Walters, who was seen recently in the much-talked-about Adolescence, Hannah Jones, Alex Thomas-Smith, Michael Socha (This is England), Calam Lynch, who might be familiar to Bridgerton fans, The Capture and Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Laura Haddock, Laquarn Lewis and Jake Dunn.
“This is a proudly working-class story and it needed a cast who could bring it to life authentically,” says trans author and magazine columnist Lees. “We’ve struck gold with these highly talented actors. Some are already familiar faces and some are about to be.
“We’re following someone who’s going from, in the eyes of the outside world, a schoolboy, right up to a trans woman starting university, and all that’s in between.”
Black Mirror‘s Brian Welsh is the show’s lead director.
Lindsay Salt, the director of BBC Drama, described the series as “genre-defining television, packed with swagger, humour and humanity”.
What It Feels Like For A Girl will air on BBC Three and the iPlayer later this year.
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