Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud

Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud
Directed by	Pete Grant
Starring	Cherry Valentine
Production company	World of Wonder
Distributed by	BBC Three
Release date	25 January 2022 (2022-01-25)
Running time	55 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud is a 2022 English documentary film directed by Pete Grant and released on BBC Three and then WOW Presents Plus.^[1][2]

Plot

The documentary tells the story of George Ward leaving the English Traveller community in Darlington after coming out as gay and being rejected by the community.^[3][4] Ward left his home and started his new life as Cherry Valentine, a drag alter-ego.^[5] In the documentary, Ward returned to his roots to see how he could do drag and be a Gypsy.^[6][7] At the end of the documentary, there is a short memorial tribute to George Ward, who died by suicide on 18 September 2022.^[8]

References

1. Brocklehurst, Harrison (25 January 2022). "We spoke to Drag Race UK's Cherry Valentine about her 'emotional' new documentary". The Tab. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
2. "Drag Race UK's Cherry Valentine 'absolutely terrified' to make BBC doc about LGBTQ Travellers". Attitude. 7 February 2022. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
3. Smoke, Ben (2 February 2022). "'I adore my community': Cherry Valentine is a Gypsy queen and proud". Dazed. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
4. Maidment, Adam (30 January 2022). "Drag Race UK star reveals battle growing up gay in Traveller community". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
5. "BBC Three - Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
6. Harrison, Phil (21 January 2022). "The Afterparty to All of Us Are Dead: the seven best shows to stream this week". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
7. Conner-Hill, Rachel (27 January 2022). "Darlington drag queen on growing up as gay in traveller community ahead of BBC show". The Northern Echo. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
8. Billson, Chantelle (10 February 2023). "Cherry Valentine struggled with Drag Race fame before death, inquest told". PinkNews. Retrieved 17 April 2023.