The early 2010s drama fills a nostalgia-shaped hole in the sapphic psyche
BY SCARLETT COUGHLAN, IMAGE BY BBC
It might be over a decade since the BBC Three drama Lip Service was cancelled sans explanation, but the 2010s show remains a cultural cornerstone for lesbian representation in UK television. The show, created by Harriet Braun, follows a group of queer women based in Glasgow and their messy interweaving lives as friends and lovers. From lead character Frankie’s choppy shag cut and nose ring to Tess’ denim shorts over tights combo, to the moody hues of Glasgow brooding on the screen, the show fills a nostalgia-shaped hole in the sphere of sapphic media. But where is the Lip Service cast now?
Laura Fraser (Cat)
While lesbian architect Cat is known for her neurotic personality, Glasgow-born actor Laura Fraser has remained firmly anchored in her craft since Lip Service was terminated in 2013. In fact, Fraser has won a BAFTA for Best Actress in the TV series The Missing, as well as an Outstanding Performance Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in the cult crime drama Breaking Bad. She is currently filming as the lead actor in the upcoming detective show Patience.
Ruta Gedmintas (Frankie)
Ruta Gedmintas’ character Frankie may have been brash and promiscuous, but the actor has been dedicated to her partner and fellow actor Luke Treadaway (who actually starred in the Olivier-award-winning musical Cabaret) for over ten years. Gedmintas is now, perhaps, best known for her role in A Street Cat Named Bob, The Strain and The Lost Samaritan.
Fiona Button (Tess)
It’s slightly meta that Fiona Button played the role of an actor in Lip Service. And, indeed, Button has continued in her multidimensional profession, having starred in TV series The Split, Truelove, My Mother and Other Strangers, as well as Grantchester. Though Tess is famously unlucky in love, the Swiss-born actor, on the other hand, has been married to screenwriter Henry Fleet since 2014, whom she shares one child with.
Roxanne McKee (Lou)
Roxanne McKee, who played Lou – Tess’s closeted girlfriend – has had an enviable career in British television since Lip Service. She has been in Game of Thrones and Dominion but is best known for playing Louise Summers in Hollyoaks. Despite this, McKee is said to have praised Lip Service’s filming location in Glasgow as “the nicest place [she] has ever worked”.
Heather Peace (Sam)
Heather Peace, who plays Cat’s girlfriend and lesbian police sergeant Sam in the series, is one of the few cast members who is actually queer in real life. Since leaving the show, Peace has focused on forging a music career, as well as acting and working as an LGBTQIA activist. In 2014, she married her wife, Ellie Dickinson, and the pair have three children together.
Natasha O’Keeffe (Sadie)
It’s likely that Natasha O’Keeffe’s character Sadie is fondly remembered as the “bad girl” of Lip Service. Since playing the heartbreaker, O’Keeffe has become best known for her roles in TV series Misfits, Resistance, Sherlock and Peaky Blinders. Next on O’Keeffe’s roster is a lead role in the short film Celestial, where two people fall in love in the waiting room between heaven and hell, which will be released next month.
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