Deranged British slapstick comedy has, somewhat sadly, been left in the past.
Julia Davis’s Nighty Night is so dark and often disgusting, I still get shocked every time I watch it – which, by now, must be nearing the hundreds – and everything she’s done since is just as twisted.
Kathy Burke’s unhinged sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, about two spiteful flatmates, broke barriers no one asked for – and the mad Linda La Hughes was so unfiltered and horny it was as unnerving to watch as it was unbearably funny.
It makes sense that the natural successor to Linda and the psychotic Jill Tyrell would be a deluded drag queen in Middlesbrough, with terrible eyebrows and a wig fit for a serial killer.
Enter Dickie – one of the greatest comedy creations in years – whose limitless absurdity in the brilliant Smoggie Queens rapidly became beloved by gays, theys, and anyone fortunate enough to have stumbled upon the BBC’s loud and proud comedy about the North East’s overlooked LGBTQ+ community.
Three Bafta nominations later, on a scorching hot day last September, the highly anticipated second series is filming. At a community centre on the outskirts of Middlesbrough, the cast are giddy – thrilled by their second chance to play in the strange imagination of creator, writer, and star Phil Dunning.
‘We thought it’d be quite niche being LGBTQ+, but it’s really hit audiences – especially in Teesside. But then also the queer community has said, “This is the kind of comedy that we want,”’ says Dunning, still clearly surprised by his own success.
Its audience is perhaps reaching farther and wider than expected, because Smoggie Queens puts its comedy miles ahead of its queerness. It’s a comedy about a group of gays, but its dark slapstick humour is for everyone – even ‘a lot of straight, proper burly, straight men.’
‘We’ve had a lot of, “Actually, I didn’t expect to like it,’”’ Dunning chuckles.
It’s making waves in Australia and has even been adapted into Spanish, though ‘those Boroughisms will need to be changed,’ Dunning concedes.
Dickie’s world may revolve around Dickie, but Smoggie Queens is about friendship.
Somehow, Dickie has a special circle of chosen family who love him – made up of self-styled ‘hun’ Lucinda (Alexandra Mardell), gassy lesbian Sal (Patsy Lowe), ‘baby gay’ Stewart (Cameron Norrie), and Mam, perfectly described as “the matriarchal heart and home of Smoggie Queens,” played by the superb Mark Benton – who is so in his element as a drag queen, it’s astonishing he hasn’t spent his entire life in a glamorous frock and sky-high heels.
‘As soon as he’s got the nails on, his posture changes and the things he comes out with – he reads us!’ Norris cackles.
Benton isn’t the only star power in the cast. Drag Race’s Michelle Visage and former BBC presenter Steph McGovern are returning for season two, and Bafta-winner Monica Dolan joins the cast after personally requesting a part.
‘She texted Mark to say she loved the show – and that’s how that happened,’ executive producer Chris Jones tells me, which comes as a surprise to Dunning.
the queer community has said, “This is the kind of comedy that we want”
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Dunning says: ‘Monica just really threw herself into the part. It was fascinating to watch. You’re like, “Oh, that’s why she’s won a Bafta.”’
‘She really threw herself into Smoggie culture too,’ beams Mardell. ‘She took herself for a parmo!’
Dolan is an extraordinary talent but on the surface an unlikely fit for one of the BBC’s most obscene and off-beat comedies. Smoggie Queens is driven by absurdity, but its gut-punches never miss.
Among them, in series one, Mam revealed she had a son she hadn’t seen since he was a small boy. The boy’s mother cut Mam off completely – she’d have had to give up her true identity to keep her family.
‘Back in the day, dad in a frock, didn’t have a leg to Stanton when it came to custody, chick,’ Mam tells the others.
Dolan plays the mother whose prejudice deprived her son of a father, but I’m told that storyline is ‘very nuanced.’
Jones insists: ‘We don’t want to paint anyone as the villain in this family matter – in a chosen-family comedy.’
Elsewhere, Stuart has moved in with Mam after being rejected by his nan when he came out in the series one finale.
‘He’s found his family with this gang of weirdos,’ Norris grins.
It was an unexpected heartbreak amid the debaucherous chaos of Smoggie Queens – but one that resonated with thousands of viewers of all ages.
‘People say we’ve had too many coming-out stories, but I think they’re always needed,” says Norris. “It’s really lovely how much people relate to the show – despite it being so out there – because these relationships are also really grounded.’
There’s a Smoggie Queens character for everyone.
‘A lot of camp girls relate to Lucinda,’ says Mardell, while Lowe laughs: ‘People just really enjoy how strange Sal is, even if she’s just doing something weird in the back.’
As someone who, even at 37 years old, still greatly appreciates a fart joke – Sal lets several rip, and they never stop being funny.
Lowe gives a cheeky wink: ‘You never know, you might get another one in series two.’
The Smoggie Queens cast agree its second chapter takes everything fans loved about the first season and cranks it up a gear.
No matter how many series Smoggie Queens runs for – or how successful it becomes – one thing that will never change is its beating heart: Middlesbrough.
‘Queens on the scene here have already said how much the show has changed their lives,’ says Norris. ‘There’s now a spotlight on drag in the North East – specifically Teesside – which is so amazing.’
Back in the day, dad in a frock, didn’t have a leg to Stanton when it came to custody, chick,’ Mam tells the others.
Smoggie Queens returns to BBC Three on May 15.
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