"I never had a son. I had a daughter who came out a bit wrong."
'Boy Meets Girl' is a new BBC sitcom set in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It's the first transgender themed comedy to be made in the UK, and features trans actress Rebecca Root in one of the lead roles. As far as I know, it has no connection to the recent movie of the same name.
Leo is 26, and lives with his parents. After losing his job, he meets Judy, a tall, striking woman in her thirties. She confesses to Leo that she was born male - the audience is let into the secret in the very first scene - but he's already so smitten that it makes no difference to him.
The humour is a bit too twee for my taste - but both Rebecca Root and Sunderland actor Harry Hepple, who plays Leo, are excellent. There are also some lovely local touches, such as the guy in the pub going from customer to customer trying to sell butcher's meat.
The best moment so far is when Judy meets a friend who knew her at college, before she decided to transition.
"So you were gay then?"
"Imagine that you're still you. But every time you take your clothes off and look in the mirror you see a woman's body."
"Give me another minute or two to imagine that..."
Here's a 30 second trailer
https://youtu.be/cvT5P2hI8Sg
Comments
Will they watch?
Not being in the UK I won't see this but as a mainstream sitcom it will be widely watched and I can't help imagining the family and friends of those who’ve transitioned watching it and thinking it describes them - fingers crossed it doesn't do anyone a disservice.
Rhona McCloud
Viewing the series
Kudos to the BBC for putting this on BBC-2 at 9:30pm.
Eposide 2 had the 'meeting the parents' situation. Always difficult because the oldies tend to make the whole thing rather embarrasing by bringing up those moments in your childhood that you'd rather were forgotten.
So far (IMHO) it is not that bad but we do seem to be moving rather fast through the relationship. Where was the awkward 'date no 2' and the agony over who would call the other after the first date?
Loved it
Haven't seen part 2 yet but it's sitting on the recorder.
A wonderfully sweet romance.
Series like this will open the minds of so many, in a way that preaching about TG issues never will.
The crass beginning put me off
when she tells the bloke in the restaurant, 'I was born with a penis,' just isn't something most of us would say; I switched off seconds later. I tend not to watch programmes about transgender as they embarrass me, this one did the same. It takes all sorts I suppose.
Angharad