BBC Reveals New Trans Drama ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’

The BBC has shared the first images and cast details for What It Feels Like For A Girl, an upcoming drama based on the memoir by Paris Lees. The eight-part series is set to premiere on BBC Three and iPlayer later this year.

The series follows Byron, a working-class teenager who leaves a small town for Nottingham, stepping into the lively and chaotic club scene of the early 2000s. Ellis Howard (Catherine the Great) stars as Byron, portraying the character’s journey from being seen as a schoolboy to embracing life as a trans woman at university.

Speaking about the lead actor, Lees said, “The biggest challenge was always the lead role – 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. The moment I saw Ellis, I recognised something in him – a cheekiness, a delicateness, a complexity – and knew he was the one. And he rose to the challenge, again and again.”

The series features a talented cast, including Hannah Walters (A Thousand Blows), Laura Haddock (The Recruit), Michael Socha (Showtrial), Laquarn Lewis (Jamie Johnson), Hannah Jones, Adam Ali (Waterloo Road), Alex Thomas-Smith (Too Much), Calam Lynch (Sweetpea), Jake Dunn (Renegade Nell), and Dickie Beau (Bohemian Rhapsody).

Additional cast members include Emma Shipp (Rivals), Sekou Diaby (Boarders), Laura Checkley (Screw), Oliver Huntingdon (Sherwood), Lorn Macdonald (Bridgerton), and Rhys Connah (Happy Valley). Special guest appearances come from Fay Ripley (Cold Feet) and Selina Mosinski.

The show is produced by Hera Pictures, the company behind Mary & George, in collaboration with ITV Studios. Paris Lees co-wrote the series with Georgia Christou, Paul Williams, Sarah Simmonds, and Mika Onyx Johnson. Brian Welsh (Black Mirror) serves as the lead director, alongside Ng Choon Ping (Femme) and Marie Kristiansen (Delete Me).

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!