Two Liverpool drag queens are set to make a cameo appearance in an upcoming Sky original series.
Dys Alexia and Claudia will be on our screens later this year as they play drag queens who can be found partying in downtown New York in the latest adaption of Nick Hornby's novel, Funny Girl.
The couple successfully bagged the roles after a casting team got in touch with a drag agency on the hunt for some “interesting queens.” Initially, it was thought only one queen would get a chance at the spotlight, but to both of their delights, the two of them were chosen.
READ MORE: Performer who fled Romania now loving life as Liverpool drag queen
The new comedy drama series follows the life of a young woman from Blackpool as she finds her comic voice in the male dominated world of the 1960s sitcom. Leading the cast is Gemma Arterton who steps into the shoes of the charismatic Barbara Parker, a recently crowned Miss Blackpool who begins to question if there is more to life than being a beauty queen in a seaside town.
With this in mind, Barbara ventures to London at the height of the swinging 60s but when she arrives, the city discovered isn’t the picture perfect location she’d read about or seen on TV. Despite this, she manages to land herself a part in a TV comedy show and becomes part of a ground-breaking new sitcom which will have an impact on British comedy for decades to come.
As part of production, Liverpool was used as a backdrop to transport viewers back to New York City in the 60s. Dys Alexia told the ECHO : “We filmed around Castle Street and Exchange Flags as they wanted it to look as New York as possible, but we can’t give too much away as that’ll take all the excitement out of the series.
"However, we did take on other roles (than our normal drag persona’s). Dys Alexia wouldn’t have existed in the 60s, you have to remember, this is a time before RuPaul’s Drag Race. My role was more of a ‘cross dresser’ than a working drag queen: somebody who actually lives most of the time in drag as opposed to just getting into it for work.”
The performer explained the filming was “very fast paced and on a tight schedule” having worked two “long and gruelling days'' from four in the morning until late at night. While they did see actors in passing, there was little time to interact as the producers had limited time to close down the busy Liverpool streets.
However, they could tease that the new series would include “all the excitement and emotion” from the original movie, which starred Barbara Streisand as the leading role, but with a “fresh modern twist and really unpolished makeup.”
Dys Alexia has been working to establish herself as a professional for just over four years now and said the show was a great way for her to network. The 21-year-old, originally from Romania, added: “Since we’ve filmed it, it’s been great getting a foot in the door with other TV shows. I was approached to do a dating show on MTV, a cross between Love Island and Big Brother but with LGBTQ+ influencers.”
Beside Liverpool’s own drag queens, the cast is rounded off with Rupert Everett from My Best Friend’s Wedding, David Threlfall, best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series Shameless and Murder on the Orient Express actor Tome Bateman. The series will be available on Sky Max and streaming service NOW this year.
