WHEN PARIS LEES’ BOOK WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL CAME OUT BACK IN 2021, IT WAS A REVELATION – CAPTURING SO GREATLY THE ESSENCE OF GROWING UP AS A TRANS WOMAN. NOW, THE BBC ADAPTATION WITH THE SAME TITLE TAKES THE VIVID AND IRREVERENT WORLD DESCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR FROM THE PAGES TO THE SCREEN, SHOWCASING A STORY THAT IS THRILLING, AUDACIOUS AND TOUCHING ALL AT ONCE. THE LEADING CHARACTER OF BYRON (AND LATER PARIS) IS PLAYED WITH HEAPS OF CHARISMA BY ELLIS HOWARD, A YOUNG BRITISH ACTOR. FROM EARLY 2000S RAVE SCENES TO MOMENTS OF DEEP SADNESS, HOWARD COMPLETELY LOSES HIMSELF IN THE ROLE, WINNING US OVER WITH A NAUGHTY SENSE OF HUMOUR, UNAPOLOGETIC ATTITUDE, AND FRAGILE SENSITIVITY.

Left Full look **Gucci**
Right Full look **Dior Men**

Hi Ellis! Where are you joining us from right now?

I’m at my boyfriend’s house in London.

Nice. Did you do anything for Pride Weekend?

I did, which is why my voice is a bit lower than usual!

Oh, do tell! [Laughs]

It’s normally about two octaves higher than this, but I’m still recovering.

So you’re feeling a bit run-down?

Yeah, but it was lovely and also emotional. We walked with Not A Phase, an adult trans charity that the cast has been fundraising for. It was a real cocktail of emotion, celebration, and protesting—and now it’s Tuesday and I still don’t sound normal!

I’m really obsessed with What It Feels Like for a Girl—I watched it when it first came out, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen something so compelling. How did this role first come your way?

I’d actually read the book before I knew it was being adapted. I loved how shocking and provocative it was, but also how deeply honest and unflinching. It made me fall in love with Paris [Lees]—because telling your own story with that much honesty takes courage.

When I found out it was being made for the BBC, I was shocked—it felt so dangerous as a piece of art, so alive. Then I read the scripts and was amazed by how well they captured the spirit of the book. And then, honestly, I just wanted to be involved in any way – I would’ve done anything to be a part of the show. When they asked if I’d be interested in auditioning for Byron, I’d already been auditioning for about nine months. We had an initial conversation, and then I went through four or five rounds. Each time, I fell more in love with the part. I tried not to imagine myself playing it, because I knew I’d be heartbroken if I didn’t get it. But when I met everyone in the audition room, I just knew—it didn’t feel like a job. It felt like a real cultural moment. I was insanely emotional, excited and terrified when I found out I’d got it.

The show feels like the opposite of a typical BBC drama—unapologetic, naughty, complex. Aside from Paris’ book, what helped you become Byron, and ultimately, Paris?

I watched a lot of Paris—how she talked, how she carried herself. I also did a lot of accent work. But more than anything, I spent time with Paris. That’s rare—often with biopics, the person has passed away or isn’t involved creatively. Here, Paris was at the centre of it all. Whenever I felt lost, she was there as a guide. At some point, though, you have to let go of the research and inject yourself—your own relationship with class, queerness, desire. I remember two weeks into filming, Paris said to me, “You’ve got it now. Build on it.” That gave me permission to stop overthinking and just play—to be naughty, to be cheeky, to be all the things that the book is.

What was the most fun or liberating scene for you?

So many! The toilet-brushing scene was just shocking and hilarious. By then, we were so deep into filming that the crew was screaming with laughter—it was such a buoyant energy on set. I loved the nightclub and rave scenes. The hair, makeup, and costumes—it genuinely felt like being in the early 2000s.

And honestly, I loved playing someone outrageous, audacious, even mean. In one interview, they called me a “demon doll”, and I think that’s apt! It’s so far from who I am, but it was fun to be selfish, messy, impulsive—deeply flawed but still human. As an actor, it’s a dream to have scenes where you can be awful in one moment, cry your eyes out the next, then rave after lunch—all in the same day!

I also loved the Byron-Sasha dynamic—how much they hated each other at times.

Yeah, Hannah [Jones] and I are actually really close. We’ve known each other since I was about 13, then drifted apart, and this job brought us back together. Because we love each other, there’s a safety that allows you to really go for blood on camera. The show captures that rhythm of queer friendships so well—you can tear chunks out of each other, but when someone from outside is cruel, you rally around each other. It can sometimes be uncomfortable, but it’s never unsafe, if that makes sense.

Yeah, we have each other’s back, even though within the group…

We might stab it a couple of times. [Laughs]

Shirt & pants **Kent & Curwen**, shoes **Manolo Blahnik**

Nightlife plays a big role in the show—was that something you connected with personally?

Absolutely. I’m not the biggest drinker, but I believe in nightlife as a space for community. We’ve lost so many community spaces due to austerity—football pitches replaced by office blocks, community centres closed. Queer bars and clubs become places of connection, where you can meet people across generations. They’re one of the few spaces that aren’t about productivity—they’re just for joy, memory-making, and community. I’m a big advocate for letting your hair down. Especially in dark political times, joy and solidarity become acts of resistance.

Were there shows or films that made you feel seen growing up?

Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing meant everything to me. It was the first time two men kissed on the British stage. It’s about two boys on a council estate in Thamesmead. I read it constantly as a kid, and now Jonathan’s actually a good friend of mine. That play is iconic, like a biblical text for queer Brits. Queer as Folkwas huge for me, as was Shameless. American works like Angels in America or The Inheritance also resonated—both are deeply political and explore queerness through that lens. Also, Wendy Williams has meant a lot to me. [Laughs]

[Laughs] I feel you! I need her back in any capacity!

Me too. She means so much to us. She’s like a messiah. Wendy Williams is the perfect recipe of incredibly hilarious, shocking, bitchy, and loving!