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.
After hearing of their positive relationships with family members, and how they persevered in an environment known for rejecting LGBTQ+ identities, Cherry’s perception of her community “massively changed” because she used to “feel like the only gay person in the world”.
“When I discovered the LGBTQ+ community, I felt like the only person who was a Traveller in that community,” she explains. “Going through this whole documentary process just opened my eyes. It gives me so much hope. It really does.”
The film also sees Cherry wrestle with keeping her drag persona separate to her “day job” as a nurse, as well as her queer self from her Traveller past.
While she’s still embarking on a journey of self-discovery, the 28-year-old says the documentary helped her “combine” both of her worlds.
“We all have different identities that we try and combine through life, but I think it was really interesting doing this documentary because it was an intersection of doing drag, being LGBTQ+ and being from the GRT [Gypsy, Roma and Traveller] community,” she states.
“It has helped me combine them and I do feel a lot more confident out of drag now. I actually feel a lot more grounded in drag, for the better.”
Although the Darlington-born entertainer was scared of how the Traveller community would be perceived due to British reality shows that are “not always seen in a positive light,” such as Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and Here Come the Gypsies, the documentary has received widespread critical acclaim.
“The response has actually been really overwhelming,” Cherry adds. “It’s been really positive and I’m just really thankful that people received it the way we intended it to be received, and people are reacting to it authentically.”
Since being catapulted to superstardom on Drag Race UK, Cherry has released two well-received dance-pop singles, Aesthetic and Iconic. While she plans to release more music this year, Cherry reveals that she’s still “working very closely” with Traveller Pride to provide authentic representation for LGBTQ+ Travellers.
“I just want people to feel like they’re not alone,” she continues. “I know that sounds super cliché, but that’s the sole reason I did this documentary. If I was able to watch it when I was younger, then maybe it would’ve been different.”
Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen And Proud is now available to stream on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
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