I watched BBC’s Smoggie Queens over the Christmas break and what a delight! It’s funny, charming, delightful, and moving – all at once. The writing is awesome and the cast are truly splendid. A must watch in my opinion.
“Out and proud Middlesbrough comedy”.
The series, which is set in and filmed in Middlesbrough, tells the story of volatile Dickie (Phil Dunning) along with drag queen Mam (Mark Benton), self-styled hun Lucinda (Alexandra Mardell), awkward Sal (Patsy Lowe) and newcomer Stewart (Elijah Young). It’s written by Phil Dunning, and is described as an “out and proud Middlesbrough comedy”.
For me, the show is about belonging and togetherness. Yes, it’s a comedy, but it’s also so much more. We follow the lives, loves, and crazy adventures of the Smoggies, through a ride in a Cinderella-style coach, a murder mystery, and a super-competitive drag queen event on a boat, amongst other things.
I loved the humour, One of the things they explore is the difference in regional accents in the North East. One of my favourite scenes is on the boat, where the Smoggies can’t wait to get (non-Smoggie) staff member, Caz, to say:
“That radiator needs bleeding”
And then proceed to fall about laughing. All in good fun.
The final episode is Middlesbrough Pride – full of joy and fun. It’s highly entertaining, and rounds off with a real sense of chosen family (“deeply weird and fiercely loving”), who will do anything to support and protect each other. Truly beautiful!
You can watch all six episodes of Smoggie Queens on BBC iPlayer.
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