{"id":232557,"date":"2026-05-15T11:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/232557\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T11:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T11:26:14","slug":"bbcs-brilliant-and-uniquely-british-sitcom-cements-itself-as-the-best-comedy-youre-missing-out-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/232557\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC’s brilliant and uniquely British sitcom cements itself as the best comedy you’re missing out on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don’t let RuPaul fool you. It ain’t easy being a drag queen, and perhaps no one knows that better than Dickie (Phil Dunning), the outrageous lead in BBC sitcom Smoggie Queens \u2013 back today for season two. <\/p>\n

Fuelled by equal parts, jealousy, delusion and nicotine, Dickie is trying his best to make a success of it. Except, he’s too distracted by his search for love and a one-sided rivalry with Stuart (Elijah Young) to make those bookings happen.<\/p>\n

If that sounds heavy, it’s not. Smoggie Queens is a silly, camp old time, as fans of season one will tell you. But there’s nothing “old” about the show, which Dunning also writes and created. In fact, Smoggie Queens is unlike anything else on TV right now, and it’s all the better for it. <\/p>\n

\"alexandra<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

While season two does open with a coming out party for Stuart, this isn’t the usual story of heartfelt growth or deep-rooted trauma that often characterises queer storytelling. <\/p>\n

There are elements of both across each season, but Smoggie Queens doesn’t neatly fit into either category. Instead, the 3x BAFTA-nominated comedy is far truer to daily queer life, albeit an extremely wild, chaotic version of it.<\/p>\n

Season two hits the ground voguing with that aforementioned coming out party, which quickly escalates into a rabbit hunt that unfolds in a carpet shop. Because why not? References to Alice in Wonderland and classic escape movies converge as the gang do all they can to rescue the poor bunny from this rug labyrinth of epic proportions.<\/p>\n

Each episode that follows is just as ambitious in its own way, including a Wizard of Oz-themed work party, a lookalike football match for Nipple Aid, and a mystery led by Detective Sexy and Inspector Voluptuous, aka Dickie and Mam (Mark Benton).<\/p>\n

\"phil<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Not in the centuries-long history of drag has a queen been named as perfectly as these two, yet the best episode of season two \u2013 now on BBC iPlayer \u2013 might just be the second one, which tells a (slightly) more grounded story set in a local Italian restaurant.<\/p>\n

Amidst the meat pounding and ketchup stealing, each character enjoys a ridiculous(ly brilliant) plot line of their own as they watch Stuart’s date from afar, including Dicky’s own blind date and Sal’s (Patsy Lowe) relationship woes with a truly horrendous girlfriend.<\/p>\n

While season one felt fully formed off the bat<\/a>, season two is even more confident in both the character work and outlandish plot arcs. Every actor does phenomenal work here, in what might be one of TV’s very best casts working today. <\/p>\n

The chemistry they share is akin to that of an actual friendship group, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if they’ve formed a chosen family of sorts on set that mirrors the one they play. <\/p>\n

\"alexandra<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Each character is so clearly defined that you end up rooting for them all in whatever crazy escapade that Dunning’s cooked up for them next. We could watch Alexandra Mardell’s Lucinda (and her Spanish-speaking doppelganger!?!?) big up her friends all day long, just as we could watch Lowe deadpan her way through the whole of Middlesbrough.<\/p>\n

Special shout out to Benton’s Mam, the glue who holds this family \u2014 and arguably the whole show \u2014 together through her beaming maternal energy and willingness to protect the gang at all costs. She’s the kind of drag queen you’ll rarely see compete on TV, but will know from any local gay pub regardless. A true mother to us all.<\/p>\n

Dickie is also the kind of queen you’ll rarely see on TV for very different reasons, although that’s not to say she isn’t talented. Her Slutty Tin Man look would fare well on Drag Race UK, for example, although her football tit outfit might leave a bit to be desired \u2014 even for Michelle Visage, who just so happens to make a cameo again this season too.<\/p>\n

She’s also joined by the BAFTA-winning actor<\/a> Monica Dolan, of Sherwood and Mr Bates vs The Post Office fame, plus Middlesbrough broadcast legends Jeff Stelling and football pundit Chris Kamara.<\/p>\n

\"monica<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Dolan introduces one of this season’s most emotional arcs, playing Mam’s ex-wife who took their kid away to another town many years prior. What’s special about the writing here is that it doesn’t wallow in pain, yet it doesn’t overlook very real issues like this either, ones which the queer community uniquely face and yet rarely see explored outside of soaps.<\/p>\n

This tonal balance is the show’s secret weapon, able to make you laugh one minute, then feel all warm and fuzzy the next, without shying away from hardship. <\/p>\n

There’s something distinctly British about that kind of perspective, which feels even more unique here given just how much the story is embedded deep within its North East setting. Because, yes, queer people do actually exist outside of London and Manchester, despite on screen representation that may suggest otherwise. <\/p>\n

\"phil<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Dunning likely knows that the specificity of Smoggie Queens is precisely what makes it so universally resonant. Even when the occasional joke doesn’t land, you simply won’t care because this daft show is bloody brilliant, doing Teeside proud.<\/p>\n

Smoggie Queens sure does make it look easy to write a sitcom starring a drag queen, even if said queen is a little rough around the edges. <\/p>\n

And that’s exactly why we love Dickie, a true queen among ‘Smoggie Queens’. <\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, a collector’s edition exploring the royal family, is here! Buy The Royals in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy<\/a>, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ <\/a>storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.<\/p>\n

David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more \u2014 not to mention countless Drag Race<\/a> legends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times<\/a>, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek<\/a>, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n

LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don’t let RuPaul fool you. It ain’t easy being a drag queen, and perhaps no one knows that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[59746,567,91235,569,83931,26027,9,24,63,122,124,123,91234],"class_list":["post-232557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-4f15f3a5-2132-4b4d-a7fb-b0155cf756ac","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-shorttitle-bbcs-brilliant-and-uniquely-british-sitcom-is-back-today"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}