Queerguru’s David Allen reviews ‘WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL’ the hit BBC TV series now on PRIME VIDEO

Paris Lees is an author, campaigner and journalist. In 2019, she interviewed Emma Watson for British Vogue (https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/emma-watson-on-fame-activism-little-women). A vocal activist, she became a lauded role model for the LGBTQ+ community and fierce advocate for trans rights. Before all that, however, she spent some time in prison. ‘What It Feels Like For a Girl’ is their memoir and tells the story of her life through the lowest of lows to the point past redemption.

Paris spent her formative years in Hucknall, a small town just outside Nottingham, and we first meet her in the early 2000s as Byron, an isolated 15-year-old with one friend and a pair of uninterested, separated parents struggling to make ends meet. By chance, Byron finds they can make easy money ‘cottaging’ (aka cruising). They soon find a pimp who they become infatuated with and goes to a nightclub where they meet Die, a trans go-go dancer.

And that’s all in the first episode (of eight).

What follows is a rollercoaster that spirals ever downwards into risky sex, heavy drugs and criminality. This is at times a tough watch, but it’s also incredibly engaging. The depth of the characters, their flaws, their contradictory betrayal and camaraderie, the comedy, the elation, the degradation.  All human life is here.

When it was first broadcast on the BBC in June 2025, it faced a lot of criticism. Even going so far as to criticise the title; these people have clearly never experienced the joy of listening to anything by Madonna, and if they had, never delved beneath the surface.

Ellis Howard as Byron/Paris is an exceptional actor who is at times vulnerable and fierce, a victim, and a champion. His performance was acknowledged with a BAFTA nomination for this role in 2026 (losing out to the powerhouse that is Stephen Graham). ‘What It Feels Like For a Girl’ was also nominated for BAFTAs for Best Limited Drama and Memorable Moment.

Hannah Jones as Sasha is wonderful as the ultimate frenemy, and Michael Socha as dad Steve and Laura Haddock as mother Lisa are utterly believable.

This is a story about a trans woman’s life in her own words. It’s a story about self-discovery, hope and redemption.

Brighton Originally from South Wales, David works as a Librarian in central London, which he commutes to from his home in Brighton that he shares with his partner Paul and cat Janet.  He’s recently completed his first novel (currently looking for an agent) and is making an optimistic start on his second.