PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID REISS
STYLIST MICHAEL MILLER
GROOMER SANDRA HAHNEL

“Powerhouse” doesn’t even begin to capture the full force of Ellis Howard. As Byron in the BBC drama What It Feels Like for a Girl, the Scouser channels raw vulnerability and biting wit to bring Paris Lees’ acclaimed memoir to the screen — offering a fearless and deeply human portrait of a trans, working-class person rarely seen on British television.

Amid the ongoing vilification of trans people in the media and politics, the show couldn’t feel more timely. As Ellis tells Gay Times: “It is a really dark moment politically. I feel proud to be part of a show that humanises a trans experience. There’s so much queer representation on screen right now, and behind the screen too, and I’m proud that we’re contributing to that with something that is uplifting, euphoric and joyful.”

Set at the turn of the millennium, What It Feels Like for a Girl follows Byron, a working-class teen whose flamboyance clashes with their macho father’s expectations and makes them a target of anti-LGBTQIA+ violence at school. Byron escapes to Nottingham’s rainbow underworld, where they discover a world of drink, drugs and a chaotic chosen family in Lady Die (Laquarn Lewis), Sticky Nikki (Alex Thomas-Smith), Dirty Damian (Adam Ali), and Sasha (Hannah Jones).

Also starring Laura Haddock, Hannah Walters, Michael Socha, Calam Lynch and Jake Dunn, What It Feels Like for a Girl carries – Ellis says – “a kind of historic weight, reminding people that trans lives have always existed, and will continue to exist long after this moment.”

As the series lands on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, Gay Times caught up with Ellis to discuss this trailblazing story of the trans and working-class experience, unpacking Byron’s “mythic queer resilience” in the show’s most emotionally charged moments, and how What It Feels Like for a Girl sparked a personal “queer renaissance” for him. Warning: major spoilers ahead.

Ellis, What It Feels Like for a Girl is absolutely outstanding, so major congratulations. I felt so many emotions, primarily joy, anxiety and dread, a lot of the time within a single scene. How are you feeling about this important and timely series being released into the world?

I’m feeling exactly how you feel watching it: joy, dread, joy again and anxiety. Honestly, the show feels really alive — and a bit dangerous — as a proposition. Even when I first heard it was getting made, I thought, ‘Are they really going to do this? The BBC? We’re actually doing this?’ I go through waves of fear, but I think at the heart of it, it’s that universal actor’s fear: ‘Am I good enough?’ I love Paris [Lees] and the book so much. So I just really hope I’ve done this character justice. That’s where a lot of the anxiety comes from.