TV Review: Beautiful People (Series 2)

With its love for Enya and Rory Kinnear camping it up, Series 2 of Beautiful People is another riotous delight

“There’s not many blokes who can say they’ve been felt up by Ross Kemp”

I loved reminding myself of the first series of this most camp of shows and the second series of Beautiful People was just as much fun, albeit with more bits I had forgotten. Or more accurately, there’s bits that resonate differently with different actors – Rory Kinnear doing gay this way is quite something!

Jonathan Harvey’s adaptation of Simon Doonan’s memoirs remain highly witty and as the timeline pushes more into teenage years, it also becomes more overtly gay in a sweet but insistent way, mirroring the journey towards being comfortable enough to come out.

The corking ensemble also remain a true delight. Luke Ward-Wilkinson and Layton Williams leading with aplomb, Olivia Colman and Sarah Niles as fantastic frenemies, Meera Syal once again scene-stealingly good (Braille erotica is a revelation!)

The show also benefits from its truly off-the-wall sense of humour. Vivid cameos like Dannii Minogue and Elaine Paige, stand-out moments like the ‘Firestarter’ singalong, the love for Kate Winslet, all bound together by the soothing presence of the excellent Samuel Barnett. Well worth tracking down.

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