Son of rugby legend set to Steele show with Heidi Heights

WHEN your surname is Quinnell and you live in Wales, any public performance is likely to bring scrutiny.

- GRAHAM THOMAS

For decades the surname has been synonymous with bravery on the pitch - from Derek Quinnell's bruising battles in the 1970s to his son Scott's barnstorming displays 20 years later, often alongside brother Craig, before the emergence of youngest sibling, Gavin.

The family name is stitched into Welsh rugby folklore.

But while the Quinnell dynasty is famed for rugby daring, Scott's son, Steele, is showing the courage to seek approval on a very different stage.

Twenty-six-year-old Steele - from Usk and a personal trainer, sports masseur, psychology graduate and occasional actor - has a new gig.

He's a drag performer, under the stage name Heidi Heights.

And tomorrow he will pull on the sequins and take centre stage at Ffos Las Racecourse, for Ladies Day, a booking that signals how quickly his alter ego has risen in Wales' drag scene.

"It's going to be really good fun," Steele says, with the infectious energy that seems to power all his ventures.

"I'm doing a half-cabaret at the start - songs that everyone will know, songs you can really enjoy singing along to. And I'll be making jokes along the way because at the end of the day, I'm dressed up. If you take that too seriously, you probably shouldn't be there!"

What makes Steele's story remarkable is how accidental his drag career was. The onetime rower at university in Bristol now works as a fitness coach in Cardiff, but has always loved performing.

School productions of Les Misérables and Oliver! gave him a taste for the stage. Later, he even toured with his father, Scott, on The Lion Speaks Tonight, a hybrid of rugby stories, music, and Q&A.

But the real turning point came when he auditioned for a local production of the musical Kinky Boots.

Initially, Steele went for the male lead, Charlie. The directors had other ideas.