The BBC has shared a trailer for upcoming TV series What It Feels Like for a Girl.
The 8 episode series is the screen adaptation of Paris Lee’s best selling coming-of-age memoir. Lees was involved in the writing of the series alongside a team of television writers.
New comer Ellis Howard takes on the lead role, portraying the lead character Byron who the outside world sees as a schoolboy, but by the time they head to university they’ve embraced being a transgender woman.
When the cast was revealed a few months ago Lees spoke abut how important it was to cast the right actor in the part.
“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.” Lees said.
After a rough childhood and wild teenage years Lees found herself on the wrong side of the law, but later turned her life around and finished her education, going on to have a successful career in journalism. She’s been deputy editor at Gay Times and Diva, and written for many publications including Vogue, The Guardian, Vice and Pink News.
She made history as the first transgender presenter on BBC Radio 1, and was the first transgender panelist to appear on the BBC’s Question Time program.
Check out the trailer for the upcoming series. It begins airing in the UK in early June.
