Last October, Sergio profiled a new British TV comedy series titled “Chewing Gum”, which premiered on the UK’s Channel 4 network; Sergio emphasized the fact that the series is created by a black woman comedian, whose routine is generally what he described as “graphic, lowdown sexual humor,” the kind that “goes there.”
That black woman comedian, as well as actress, writer and performer, is Michaela Coel. And the TV series is based on her 2012 one-woman show, “Chewing Gum Dreams,” in which the 26-year-old played a teenage version of herself, as she related past experiences growing up in the working class London neighborhoods of Hackney and Tower Hamlets, with her very religious mother, all while she became very acutely aware of her own sexuality, unprepared for the realities of sex and gender that she would face in the real world.
As Coel said when the TV show launched last fall, she wanted her show to reflect “the sort of life you don’t see very often on TV,” adding that the “sexual naiveté” of the character she plays reflects her own celibacy between the ages of 17 and 22, as a member of what she called “a massive conversion to this very Pentecostal, demon-exorcising church.”
“Psychologically, I was in a whirlwind,” she said.
Seven months since the show’s premiere, it’s been a hit in the UK, and, last night, earned Ms. Coel the BAFTA TV award (essentially the UK’s equivalent of the Primetime Emmys) for best actress in a comedy series.
I’ll have to research BAFTA TV history to find out if this is some kind of history-making event (as in the first black actress to win in this category, or something to that effect). Thus far, none of the UK media websites have mentioned this, so I’m assuming that maybe it’s not a history-making event. But I will still investigate for myself.
Sergio summarized “Chewing Gum’s” genesis in his October post, as follows: After winning a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was the “first black girl they’d had in five years and the only person in [her] year whose parents weren’t homeowners… ‘Chewing Gum Dreams’ was originally conceived as her graduation piece, but after it became a smash hit at a local theater, the play moved to the more prestigious National Theater in London. Shortly afterwards, Coel was approached about turning it into a TV series, however she was reluctant at first of her abilities to play the role on television. But after appearing on another Channel 4 TV series, “Top Boy,” the positive responses she got for her work on that show convinced her that “Chewing Gum” could work as a series. However, Coel doesn’t see “Chewing Gum” as simply about a young back girl trying to find her way to adulthood. She says the overarching themes in the show are about “class and community.” “On my estate, everyone’s different racially but economic circumstances give people a particular culture. I know Tower Hamlets is one of the poorest boroughs in the UK, but I’d rather write about all the great stuff than the misery. I wanted to make the estate a place where people would want to live. I loved my estate!” she exclaimed.
It may only be a matter of time before we start to see her in TV and film on this side of the pond – as in American TV and film.
Watch Ms. Coel’s BAFTA TV Award acceptance speech from last night, followed by her backstage interview with the hosts (the full list of winners comes after the video below):
Here is a full list of winners for the 2016 Bafta TV Awards.
Leading actor
Winner: Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Idris Elba, Luther
Stephen Graham, This is England ’90
Ben Whishaw, London Spy
Leading actress
Winner: Suranne Jones, Doctor Foster
Claire Foy, Wolf Hall
Ruth Madeley, Don’t Take My Baby
Sheridan Smith, The C-Word
Supporting actor
Winner: Tom Courtenay, Unforgotten
Anton Lesser, Wolf Hall
Ian McKellen, The Dresser
Cyril Nri, Cucumber
Supporting actress
Winner: Chanel Cresswell, This is England ’90
Michelle Gomez, Doctor Who
Lesley Manville, River
Eleanor Worthington-Cox, The Enfield Haunting
Entertainment performance
Winner: Leigh Francis, Celebrity Juice
Stephen Fry, QI
Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show
Romesh Ranganathan, Asian Provocateur
Male performance in a comedy programme
Winner: Peter Kay, Peter Kay’s Car Share
Hugh Bonneville, W1A
Toby Jones, Detectorists
Javone Prince, The Javone Prince Show
Female performance in a comedy programme
Winner: Michaela Coel, Chewing Gum
Sian Gibson, Peter Kay’s Car Share
Miranda Hart, Miranda
Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe
Drama series
Winner: Wolf Hall
Humans
The Last Panthers
No Offence
Single drama
Winner: Don’t Take My Baby
The C-Word
Cyberbully
The Go-Between
Mini-series
Winner: This is England ’90
Doctor Fosterqui
The Enfield Haunting
London Spy
Soap and continuing drama
Winner: EastEnders
Coronation Street
Emmerdale
Holby City
International
Winner: Transparent
The Good Wife
Narcos
Spiral
Entertainment programme
Winner: Strictly Come Dancing
Adele at the BBC
Britain’s Got Talent
TFI Friday Anniversary Special
Comedy and comedy entertainment programme
Winner: Have I Got News For You
Charlie Brooker’s Election Wipe
QI
Would I Lie to You
Scripted comedy
Winner: Peter Kay’s Car Share
Chewing Gum
Peep Show
People Just Do Nothing
Features
Winner: The Great British Bake Off
Back in Time for Dinner
Kevin McCloud: Escape to the Wild
Travel Man
Radio Times Audience Award
Winner: Poldark
Doctor Foster
The Great British Bake Off
Humans
Making a Murderer
Peter Kay’s Car Share
Current affairs
Winner: Outbreak: The Truth about Ebola
Jihad: A British Story
Children of the Gaza War
Escape from Isis (Dispatches)
Single documentary
Winner: My Son the Jihadi
Bitter Lake
Life After Suicide
Louis Theroux: Transgender Kids
Factual series
Winner: The Murder Detectives
The Detectives
Great Ormond Street
The Tribe
Reality and constructed factual
Winner: First Dates
Gogglebox
I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds
Specialist factual
Winner: Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners
Grayson Perry’s Dream House
The Hunt
Rudolf Nureyev: Dance to Freedom
News coverage
Winner: Channel 4 News: Paris Massacre
BBC News at Six: Paris Attacks Special
ITV News at Ten: Refugee Crisis
Sky News: From Turkey to Greece
Sport
Winner: The Ashes (Sky Sports)
The Grand National (Channel 4)
MOTD Live: FA Cup Final (BBC One)
Six Nations: Final Day (BBC One)
Live event
Winner: Big Blue Live (BBC One)
The Sound of Music Live! (ITV)
Stargazing Live: Brit in Space, Tim Peake Special (BBC Two)
The Vote (More4)
