What It Feels Like For A Girl – “a wild, anarchic Y2K spin on a coming-of-age drama, inspired by the acclaimed memoir of the same name by the award-winning writer and journalist Paris Lees” – is set to come to the BBC during Pride Month, in June this year. Made by Hera Pictures (Mary & George, Temple, Hamnet) for BBC iPlayer and BBC Three, the new eight-part series is adapted for television by Lees and lead director Brian Welsh.
A media pack released by the BBC introduces what watchers can expect from the series: “It’s a new millennium – Madonna, Moloko and Basement Jaxx top the charts, 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. Sick of mam, sick of dad, sick of being beaten up for “talkin’ like a poof”. Sick of everyone shuffling about like the living dead, going on about kitchens they’re too skint to do up and marriages they’re too scared to leave. Byron needs to get away, and doesn’t care how.
“Life explodes in a rush when Byron escapes to Nottingham’s kinetic underworld and discovers the East Midlands’ premier podium-dancer-cum-hellraiser, the mesmerising Lady Die. Byron is adopted into Lady Die’s hilarious and chaotic family of trouble-makers – “The Fallen Divas”. 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.
Ellis Howard as Byron in What It Feels Like For A Girl – Credit BBC/Hera
“The party can’t last, though, and when Byron is seduced by bad-boy Liam, a shocking encounter occurs that will change life forever.
“Joyful, frank and packed with memorable characters, What It Feels Like For A Girl is a journey of love and danger, self-discovery and self-destruction. Because to find yourself sometimes you need to lose yourself…”
What It Feels Like For A Girl will star Ellis Howard as Byron, Laquarn Lewis as Lady Die, Hannah Jones as Sasha, Jake Dunn as Liam, Adam Ali as Dirty Damian, Alex Thomas-Smith as Sticky Nikki, Michael Socha as Steve, and Laura Haddock as Lisa. Liza Marshall and Ron O’Berst are the Executive Producers.
All episodes of What It Feels Like For A Girl are on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Tuesday 3 June, with the series airing on BBC Three and BBC One from later that night.
