Rachael Stirling Online

Boy Meets Girl to air in May

Posted by Bonnie at 5.15pm

I can now report with a reasonable amount of confidence that the new four-part ITV comedy drama, Boy Meets Girl, should air next month. The British Comedy Guide suggests that the series will begin on Friday 1st May at 9.00pm, and will continue for 4 weeks, concluding on Friday 22nd May at 9.00pm. Each episode will be 30 minutes long, not 1 hour long, as previously reported. (Shame!) These dates seem to tie in with the release of the press pack and some magazine articles.

I have uploaded a few more pics to the Boy Meets Girl gallery. See the Photo Shoots and Promos albums. I'm sure we'll see more over the coming weeks, so I'll keep an eye out for the various TV guides. This is a prime time 4-part drama, and we haven't seen Rachael in such a prominent role since Tipping the Velvet, so there should be plenty of coverage. It also has a lesbian twist with the characters portrayed by Angela Griffin and Rachael, which sparked my interest. Really looking forward to it!

The press pack can be downloaded here: Boy Meets Girl Press Pack — just click the link at the bottom of the page.

I have also posted the cast interviews here: Boy Meets Girl Cast Interviews — the first half is with Rachael, and the second half is with Martin Freeman. Rachael states in the interview, "I watched everything that featured transgender roles, but I have also now played four male parts in my career."

She has certainly had a lot of roles that have experimented with gender. I can think of five off the top of my head, actually:

1. Hermidas in The Triumph of Love (2001), the male alter-ego of Corine.
2. Nan King in Tipping the Velvet (2002) alongside Keeley Hawes, in which she portrayed an oyster girl come music hall star come rent boy.
3. In her role as Miranda Lionheart in Theatre of Blood (2005), she dressed in male costume as a disguise.
4. Zoe Kenneth, her character in Lewis: Life Born of Fire (2008), was a male-to-female transsexual. (Technically not a male part, but worthy of note.)
5. Now, in Boy Meets Girl, she portrays Danny Reed — a man trapped in a woman's body.

I love seeing Rachael in these challenging, interesting and varied roles. Can't wait!

I have also posted a brief article from The Telegraph, which mentions Boy Meets Girl and also Rachael's current partner, actor Oliver Chris. They were photographed together in 2007 and he was named as her boyfriend by the photographer, though how long they have actually been a couple is unknown. This is the first time their relationship has been mentioned in the press, to my knowledge. Read the article here: Rachael Stirling finds a broad-minded beau — sounds like they're very happy!

Thank you so much to flip18 for the scan of the article Trading Places, from the May edition of sci-fi magazine SFX. Here is an excerpt, where writer Alison Lumb talks about Rachael:

"She did one of the most striking readings I've ever sat through and we were all absolutely unanimous that it was Rachael and nobody else. She was astonishing throughout — it's an amazing performance. It's not just that she has to play a man trapped in a woman's body," Lumb continues. "She had to play that particular man, with his characteristics and stance and gait and mannerisms trapped in the body of a very feminine fashion journalist. She had to become as well acquainted as possible with how Danny, played by Martin, looks, sounds and walks. It's not the sort of part that comes up every day!"

Thanks flip18!

You can view the original scan by clicking on the preview image, or you can read the transcription which I have uploaded to the Features section: Trading Places.

That's all from me for today. I was just keen to post an update about Boy Meets Girl, as a fair bit of information about it has been coming my way recently, and I wanted to get it all uploaded to the site. This sounds like an exciting project for Rachael, and hopefully it will draw in some new fans!

5 Comments