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THE NEW EIGHT-PART SERIES WILL "SAVE LIVES" 20:22, 03 Jun 2025 A new drama dubbed the "show of the summer" has arrived on BBC iPlayer this week. 'What It Feels Like
for a Girl', inspired by Paris Lees’ acclaimed memoir, has received stellar reviews just hours after its release on the streaming platform. The eight-part series is a coming of age
story which tells the tale of 15-year-old Byron (Ellis Howard) who is eager to escape a small working class town. Set in Nottinghamshire in the early 2000s, What It Feels Like For A Girl
explores Byron's journey to self-discovery. It explores gender issues as Byron seeks to explore his own identity, at a time when gender fluidity was rarely discussed. It features Ellis
Howard (Byron) and Hannah Jones (Sasha) in leading roles. Stephen Graham's wife Hannah Walters (A Thousand Blows, Boiling Point, Time, This is England), also stars as Byron's
grandma. The series is described by the BBC as a "raw, heartbreaking and hilarious working class coming-of-age story that explores escape, self-discovery and self-destruction.
"This is an original, must-watch, mainstream drama in the vein of I May Destroy You / Normal People / It’s A Sin. It’s been made to be enjoyed by viewers from all walks of life and
backgrounds and is a love letter to clubbing in the early 2000s." Article continues below The series launched on BBC iPlayer on Tuesday June 3 and has already been dubbed as a
"queer masterpiece that holds the potential for real-world change." Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian has described the series as: "deeply disturbing and totally fearless."
She continued: "It’s certainly a wild ride – I’ll struggle to look at a toilet brush the same way ever again – but if you stay on board until the end, a memorably complex psychological
portrait will be your reward." The Independent also adds to the long list of positive reviews. Nick Hilton described the series as a "raw, engaging case for optimism." He
continued: "It’s hard to be a kid. You might not have to stare down the taxman, might not need to know how to parallel park or julienne a bell pepper, but the experience of being a
half-formed thing is far trickier. "This is the moment where BBC Three’s new eight-part drama _What It Feels Like for a Girl_ – a story both universal and also rooted in the transgender
experience – picks up. The messy, uncertain, self-destructive, poignant life of a teenager." David Opie from Digital Spy has described the series as the "show of the summer"
and "The most important LGBTQ+ series since It's a Sin." He praised the way the show embodied a perfect representation of what life was really like during the early Noughties.
He wrote: "It's a lot, but as anyone old enough to remember will know, the noughties _were_ a lot. "What It Feels Like for a Girl inhabits that era in every sense of the
word, from the fashion and the music to even the slang. You __will cringe at points if you recall those years firsthand, but only because of__ just how accurately the show embodies
them." David Opie also described the series as a "the rare type of show that will save lives" in the RadioTimes. Following the Supreme Court's ruling that "sex"
does not refer to a person's gender identity, the "extraordinary series couldn't have come at a better time." Article continues below He wrote: "Scenes shared
between Byron and her Mommar Joe (Hannah Walters) will hit especially hard for any queer people watching while giving a much-needed reminder that age doesn't define your capacity to
love someone for who they really are." Marcus Wratten of Pink News concluded: "What It Feels Like for a Girl is far from a neat, bow-tied coming-of-age tale, the ilk of which seems
to be the cookie-cutter format for most LGBTQ+ stories." He added: "The unease is what makes _What It Feels Like for a Girl _such a visceral, essential watch. We need more TV like
it." _WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL IS AVAILABLE TO WATCH ON_ BBC IPLAYER