Lorraine Kelly moved to tears by What It Feels Like for a Girl writer Paris Lees
Lorraine Kelly was moved to tears Paris Lees thanked her for her support of the trans community. (ITV)
Lorraine Kelly was moved to tears Paris Lees thanked her for her support of the trans community. (ITV)
TV show host Lorraine Kelly was moved to tears after What It Feels Like for a Girl author Paris Lees thanked her for her vocal support of the transgender community.
Lees’ 2021 memoir has been adapted into an eight-part series for BBC Three. Billed as a “raw, heart-breaking and hilarious drama that explores escape, self-discovery and self-destruction”, the show follows Byron, played by Ellis Howard, growing up in Nottingham in the Noughties.
Speaking to Kelly on Tuesday (10 June), Lees said: “There is so much hostility for trans people at the moment and you’ve been consistently an ally. We see you and we really appreciate it.”
‘We are under attack, you are using your platform for good’
After Kelly replied: “You’re going to make me cry,” Lees continued, “Honestly, not everyone is there speaking up for us. We’re less than 0.5 percent of the population and we are under attack. You are using your platform for good and you are a friend. I should have brought some flowers or something. I hereby declare you an honorary diva.”
The presenter was then seen wiping away a tear.
Kelly has often voiced her backing the trans community. In March, speaking to the Metro about the 80s HIV/Aids crisis, when the LGBTQ+ community was demonised, she said: “I felt it was my duty to stand up and say, ‘No, this isn’t right’.
“I don’t like when trans people have to try [to] justify their experience, no one else has to. It’s really about showing the person behind the label, we’re all far more complex than labels.”
Kelly previously called for people to be more tolerant of the trans community and in her debut novel, The Island Swimmer, the protagonist’s oldest friend, Freya, is trans, but that is the “least interesting thing about her”, the presenter said.
“Anyone who is frightened of trans people could sit down with Freya, if she were real. They’d change their mind.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
