Tipping the Velvet

A three-part miniseries produced and broadcast by the BBC in 2002, the colourful and controversial `Tipping the Velvet' is based on the same-titled novel by Sarah Waters and adapted for TV by Andrew Davies. It's set in 1890s England and follows heroine Nan Astley, who dreams of a glamorous life after meeting Kitty Butler, a popular male impersonator music hall star. Kitty happens to be gay, and Nan soon realizes she's also attracted to women. The pair become a double act both on and off the stage, until Kitty breaks it off for the safety of a traditional life and marriage. Broken-hearted, Nan - in her guise as a male impersonator - takes to the streets to survive and finds a niche in the Victorian sexual underworld.