Exclusive: Cherry Valentine talks “overwhelming” response to groundbreaking BBC documentary
Cherry Valentine has opened up about her decision to revisit her Traveller past for Gypsy Queen And Proud. The powerful BBC documentary, which is now available to stream on iPlayer, follows the star as she reconnects with her roots and unites her queer and Gypsy identities.
It follows Cherry’s moving discussion about her strict background with Sister Sister on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, which was met with overwhelming praise from viewers.
Speaking with GAY TIMES, Cherry admits she was “absolutely terrified” when she signed on to make the documentary, and was unsure “which route to go down” due to a significant lack of mainstream attention and education on LGBTQ+ Travellers. “It was a guessing game at times, and I didn’t ever want it to come across as negative,” she tells us. “I just wanted to share the truth of my experience.
Hopefully, people could relate to that. That’s literally way I did it.” In the 56-minute film, Cherry meets with Ruby, a transgender woman within the Traveller community, as well as Tyler Hatwell, the founder of LGBT Traveller Pride.
