PROUD Mam

MARK BENTON on the joys of playing a drag queen in a new sitcom

- MICHAEL DARLING

SMOGGIE QUEENS NEW THURSDAY, 10.10PM & 10.40PM, BBC3 COMEDY (BOX SET, BBC IPLAYER)

Shimmering in a rainbow-print party frock adorned with large sequins and accessorised with hot-pink tights plus a perfectly coiffed white wig, Mark Benton is having a fabulous time on a sunny July day in Middlesbrough filming scenes as drag queen Mam for BBC3's new LGBTQ+ comedy Smoggie Queens.

'Every day on set is a joy,' smiles the Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators star.

"The shoes are terrible [to walk in], though! I don't know how anyone does it. I wear my slippers whenever I can." Written by Middlesbrough native Phil Dunning, the six-part series centres around a tight-knit group of pals kindly Mam, volatile Dickie (played by Phil),outgoing Lucinda (ex-Corrie star Alexandra Mardell), deadpan Sal (Patsy Lowe) and naive Stewart (Elijah Young) – as they navigate the complexities of life, love and their pride for their Teesside town – where the locals are known as ‘smoggies’.