Over two decades have passed since the iconic BBC show was released, but it’s still just as groundbreaking
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY BBC
In 2002, the BBC released a miniseries called Tipping The Velvet, based on the Sarah Waters novel of the same name. At the time, it was the most explicitly lesbian TV show the broadcaster had put out.
The story itself is set in Victorian England and follows Nan, who falls in love with a male impersonator and soon becomes one herself. It’s been 22 years since the show ended, so what have the cast been up to in that time?
Rachael Stirling (Nan Astley)
Nan was our main character and it was through her that we witnessed the story unfold. Her journey, in which she becomes a male impersonator and discovers she is a lesbian, explores homosexuality and gender identity in Victorian London.
Stirling, who is Diana Rigg’s daughter, has racked up a number of film and television credits since Tipping The Velvet. Her most prominent roles included the Duchess of Sutherland in The Young Victoria, and Millie, a 1940s codebreaker turned amateur detective in The Bletchley Circle. In 2023, she appeared in two episodes of Heartstopper as Amanda Olsson, the homophobic mother of Darcy (Kizzy Edgell).
Keeley Hawes (Kitty Butler)
Hawes played Kitty, a male impersonator who meets Nan in the first episode and convinces her to come and work with her as a dresser. The two soon start a relationship and Nan eventually joins Kitty on stage, but it all goes awry when Kitty becomes engaged to her manager, Walter.
Hawes will soon be returning to the period drama scene as Cassandra, the sister of Jane Austen in Miss Austen. She has also been in Netflix’s Scoop as Prince Andrew’s private secretary Amanda Thirsk and in Bodyguard as Home Secretary Julia Montague. Like co-star Rachael Stirling, Hawes has also played the homophobic mother of a queer character as Valerie Tozer in It’s A Sin.
Anna Chancellor (Diana Lethaby)
Diana was a wealthy woman who Nan met in the second episode. She hired Nan to live in her house as Neville and have a relationship with her.
Anna Chancellor was already a well-known name by the time she appeared in Tipping The Velvet. She played Henrietta (aka Duckface) in Four Weddings And A Funeral and Caroline Bingley in the 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. Most recently, she was Lady Frances Grey, the mother of the nine-day queen, in Amazon Prime’s My Lady Jane.
Jodhi May (Florence Banner)
Florence was the best of the women Nan had a relationship with, as she was the only one to both love and not be ashamed of loving Nan.
Jodhi May first came to fame when she played Alice Munro in The Last Of The Mohicans. After Tipping The Velvet, she appeared as Vere Cameron in five episodes of Gentleman Jack and has played a queen twice, Calanthe in The Witcher and Anne in Renegade Nell. Her next role will be as Empress Natalya in Dune: Prophecy.
Sally Hawkins (Zena Blake)
Zena was Diana’s maid. After Nan stood up for Zena to stop her being stripped naked at one of Diana’s parties, the two were thrown out of Diana’s house.
Sally Hawkins is now a national treasure. She has been in both Paddington films as Mary Brown, the bear’s adoptive mother, and most recently played Willy’s mother in Wonka. In 2017, she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape Of Water.
Hugh Bonneville (Ralph Banner)
Florence’s brother Ralph was a social activist who kindly took Nan in when Diana threw her out.
Like Hawkins, Bonneville is beloved in the UK, for both his role as Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey and as Mr Brown in Paddington, which he will be returning to in the third instalment.
Benedict Cumberbatch (Freddy)
Cumberbatch had a tiny role in Tipping The Velvet, so he has arguably come the furthest. As Freddy, he was courting Nan at the start of the show and quickly ditched when she moved to London.
In the years since, Cumberbatch solved cases as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, traversed the multiverse as Doctor Strange and was nominated for an Oscar for playing queer genius Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.
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