Star of the groundbreaking BBC sitcom Boy Meets Girl, actress and comedian Rebecca Root makes history as the irst trans actor playing a trans character in professional Irish theatre in Rathmines Road, staged as part of the upcoming Dublin Theatre Festival. Photograph by Sam Irons.

I had a relatively normal 1970’s childhood in Surrey, where I was born. We moved to Oxfordshire when was 10. It was like moving to a farm, a completely different pace of life, completely different accents. stood out like a sore thumb and didn’t make friends.

I had a very difficult few years, which coincided with my adolescence and increased gender dysphoria, which I’d been feeling ever since was a wee kid. didn’t really have the vocabulary for it, but at four or five years old remember feelings of incongruence and discomfort with what had, and wondering why wasn’t built differently.