![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296279835-86a9.jpg\")
\n\t\tSmoggie Queens is back and even punchier than before (Picture: BBC)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tSmoggie Queens is back and even punchier than before (Picture: BBC)<\/p>\n
Deranged British slapstick comedy<\/a> has, somewhat sadly, been left in the past.<\/p>\n Julia Davis\u2019s Nighty Night is so dark and often disgusting, I still get shocked every time I watch it \u2013 which, by now, must be nearing the hundreds \u2013 and everything she\u2019s done since is just as twisted.<\/p>\n Kathy Burke\u2019s unhinged sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme, about two spiteful flatmates, broke barriers no one asked for \u2013 and the mad Linda La Hughes was so unfiltered and horny it was as unnerving to watch as it was unbearably funny.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Enter Dickie \u2013 one of the greatest comedy creations in years \u2013 whose limitless absurdity in the brilliant Smoggie Queens rapidly became beloved by gays, theys, and anyone fortunate enough to have stumbled upon the BBC<\/a>\u2019s loud and proud comedy about the North East\u2019s overlooked LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 thrilled by their second chance to play in the strange imagination of creator, writer, and star Phil Dunning.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018We thought it\u2019d be quite niche being LGBTQ+, but it\u2019s really hit audiences \u2013 especially in Teesside. But then also the queer community has said, \u201cThis is the kind of comedy that we want,\u201d\u2019 says Dunning, still clearly surprised by his own success.<\/p>\n Its audience is perhaps reaching farther and wider than expected, because Smoggie Queens puts its comedy miles ahead of its queerness. It\u2019s a comedy about a group of gays, but its dark slapstick humour is for everyone \u2013 even \u2018a lot of straight, proper burly, straight men.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019ve had a lot of, \u201cActually, I didn\u2019t expect to like it,\u2019\u201d\u2019 Dunning chuckles.<\/p>\n It\u2019s making waves in Australia<\/a> and has even been adapted into Spanish, though \u2018those Boroughisms will need to be changed,\u2019 Dunning concedes.<\/p>\n Dickie\u2019s world may revolve around Dickie, but Smoggie Queens is about friendship.<\/p>\n Somehow, Dickie has a special circle of chosen family who love him \u2013 made up of self-styled \u2018hun\u2019 Lucinda (Alexandra Mardell), gassy lesbian Sal (Patsy Lowe), \u2018baby gay\u2019 Stewart (Cameron Norrie<\/a>), and Mam, perfectly described as \u201cthe matriarchal heart and home of Smoggie Queens,\u201d played by the superb Mark Benton \u2013 who is so in his element as a drag queen, it\u2019s astonishing he hasn\u2019t spent his entire life in a glamorous frock and sky-high heels.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018As soon as he\u2019s got the nails on, his posture changes and the things he comes out with \u2013 he reads us!\u2019 Norris cackles.<\/p>\n Benton isn\u2019t the only star power in the cast. Drag Race\u2019s Michelle Visage<\/a> and former BBC presenter Steph McGovern<\/a> are returning for season two, and Bafta-winner Monica Dolan joins the cast after personally requesting a part.<\/p>\n \u2018She texted Mark to say she loved the show \u2013 and that\u2019s how that happened,\u2019 executive producer Chris Jones tells me, which comes as a surprise to Dunning.<\/p>\n the queer community has said, \u201cThis is the kind of comedy that we want\u201d<\/p>\n Quote Dunning says: \u2018Monica just really threw herself into the part. It was fascinating to watch. You\u2019re like, \u201cOh, that\u2019s why she\u2019s won a Bafta.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018She really threw herself into Smoggie culture too,\u2019 beams Mardell. \u2018She took herself for a parmo!\u2019<\/p>\n Dolan is an extraordinary talent but on the surface an unlikely fit for one of the BBC\u2019s most obscene and off-beat comedies. Smoggie Queens is driven by absurdity, but its gut-punches never miss.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among them, in series one, Mam revealed she had a son she hadn\u2019t seen since he was a small boy. The boy\u2019s mother cut Mam off completely \u2013 she\u2019d have had to give up her true identity to keep her family.<\/p>\n \u2018Back in the day, dad in a frock, didn\u2019t have a leg to Stanton when it came to custody, chick,\u2019 Mam tells the others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dolan plays the mother whose prejudice deprived her son of a father, but I\u2019m told that storyline is \u2018very nuanced.\u2019<\/p>\n Jones insists: \u2018We don\u2019t want to paint anyone as the villain in this family matter \u2013 in a chosen-family comedy.\u2019<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Stuart has moved in with Mam after being rejected by his nan when he came out in the series one finale.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018He\u2019s found his family with this gang of weirdos,\u2019 Norris grins.<\/p>\n It was an unexpected heartbreak amid the debaucherous chaos of Smoggie Queens \u2013 but one that resonated with thousands of viewers of all ages.<\/p>\n \u2018People say we\u2019ve had too many coming-out stories, but I think they\u2019re always needed,\u201d says Norris. \u201cIt\u2019s really lovely how much people relate to the show \u2013 despite it being so out there \u2013 because these relationships are also really grounded.\u2019<\/p>\n There\u2019s a Smoggie Queens character for everyone.<\/p>\n \u2018A lot of camp girls relate to Lucinda,\u2019 says Mardell, while Lowe laughs: \u2018People just really enjoy how strange Sal is, even if she\u2019s just doing something weird in the back.\u2019<\/p>\n As someone who, even at 37 years old, still greatly appreciates a fart joke \u2013 Sal lets several rip, and they never stop being funny.<\/p>\n Lowe gives a cheeky wink: \u2018You never know, you might get another one in series two.\u2019<\/p>\n The Smoggie Queens cast agree its second chapter takes everything fans loved about the first season and cranks it up a gear.\u00a0<\/p>\n No matter how many series Smoggie Queens runs for \u2013 or how successful it becomes \u2013 one thing that will never change is its beating heart: Middlesbrough.<\/p>\n \u2018Queens on the scene here have already said how much the show has changed their lives,\u2019 says Norris. \u2018There\u2019s now a spotlight on drag in the North East \u2013 specifically Teesside \u2013 which is so amazing.\u2019<\/p>\n Back in the day, dad in a frock, didn\u2019t have a leg to Stanton when it came to custody, chick,\u2019 Mam tells the others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smoggie Queens returns to BBC Three on May 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n Got a story?<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff<\/a> page \u2013 we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_0552-fa21.jpeg\")
\n\t\tI went behind-the-scenes of Smoggie Queens series 2 on set in Middlesborough (Picture: BBC)<\/p>\n![\"Phil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296280023-74f5.jpg\")
\n\t\tSmoggie Queens shines a spotlight on the north east queer scene (Picture: BBC)<\/p>\n
\nQuote<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296279779-dda9.jpg\")
\n\t\tMeet the \u2018gang of weirdos\u2019 in Smoggie Queens (Picture: BBC)<\/p>\n