After a run-down of all the scripted and reality shows on free-to-air UK channels, we’re back to delve into the archives and take a look at all the documentaries currently streaming that spotlight LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people. Thanks to most of these channels existing for many decades, there are some real hidden gems going back as far as the 1960s! This list runs the gamut from serious takes on queer issues to rather more casual fare, so you have options for whatever non-fiction you’re in the mood for.
A Change of Sex
1979 – 1999 // 5 episodes
A groundbreaking documentary series spanning 20 years from the late 70s through to the end of the 90s, following the life and transition of Julia Grant. Fascinating but also a terrifying portrait of the transphobia she faced.
The Black Lesbian Handbook
2015 // 10 episodes
Ten mini-episodes cover a short dictionary of lesbian slang among the Black lesbian scene in Britain, from straps to stems to celesbians! The crew also make a trip over to Atlanta to see how the scene compares across the pond.
Dear Viv
2025
The Vivienne burst into the limelight as the deserved winner of the first season of Ru Paul’s Drage Race UK, with a career going from strength-to-strength until their death from a ketamine overdose in May 2025. This tribute to James Lee Williams (their out of drag name), charting their youth in North Wales and rise through the drag scene of Liverpool and beyond is mostly a celebration, with contributions from other Drag Race alum such as Baga Chipz and Raja. It shows a bit more bite when detailing The Vivienne’s struggles with ketamine, although arguably I’d say the only part likely to have Viv turning in their grave is when their mum doubles down on calling them “quite chunky” as a baby!
Gay to Z
2006 // 1 season // 5 episodes
A now almost-vintage documentary series looking at the lives of LGBT young people in the UK. Each episode focuses on a different theme, interspersed with talking heads
Gentleman Jack Changed My Life
2022
Gentleman Jack pretty much melted the sapphic internet when it was first shown back in 2019, and this documentary follows six British women inspired by Anne Lister’s stomping walk to transform into their best queer selves.
Into My Name
2022
Part of BBC’s Storyville series that collects the best in international documentaries, this film follows the story four trans men in Bologna, Italy, each at differing stages of transition, and their personal experiences navigating the physical, legal and social hurdles in their way.
Kelly Holmes: Being Me
2022
Emotive documentary charting the coming out process for Olympian Kelly Holmes, who was fearfully closeted for many years because of the British army’s gay ban. I think this is most interesting as an example of the long-lasting effect of repressive laws, long after they’ve been repealed, and even for those in relatively safe positions. (Note: prior to coming out, Kelly Holmes expressed transphobic views on women in sport, which she has since apologised for and now says she “totally supports” trans people, whatever that means)
Late Life Lesbians
2021
This Channel 5 doc presents its hypothesis that more and more women are turning to each other for romance as they age, and follows five women entering a new and very gay era of their lives after years, if not decades of being with men. Several pairings are preparing for marriage and managing new family dynamics, while certainly 100% of them are ecstatic about their new partners!
Louis Theroux – Transgender Kids
2015
Long-time documentarian Louis Theroux has made a career of examining what happens outside the mainstream, with his inimitable style of ingratiating himself into communities. While he is most well-known for taking on controversial groups (think Westboro Baptist Church, far right groups etc.) this documentary is an altogether more compassionate affair, focusing on young trans kids and families doing their best to support them. Over a decade old now, this documentary seems almost refreshing in the way Theroux let’s the various trans kids he follows speak for themselves. There’s also a follow-up five years later on Camile, probably the biggest star of the show, happily thriving as an eleven-year-old.
Lyra
2021
Compelling and emotive account of the life of 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee, who was killed in 2019 while witnessing a riot in Derry. Having already documented her life growing up gay in the 1990s in one of the most dangerous areas of Northern Ireland, the story is all the more powerful for being in told in Lyra’s own words, giving context to what things were really like for the “ceasefire babies” that came of age after the Good Friday Agreement was signed. A lot of time is spent with Lyra’s family, including her girlfriend Sara, all struggling to understand how the life of such a vibrant young women was cruelly ended by senseless violence.
Man Alive – Consenting Adults 2: The Women
1967
One of the great things about iPlayer is when they dig series out of the BBC’s deep archives, and Man Alive is a fantastic example – a 1960s documentary series confronting the social issues of the day. One episode focuses on lesbian lives, as told by lesbians and gender-nonconforming folks. Hearing them talk, you will quickly realise that queer people sixty years ago sound pretty similar to today!
Moments That Shaped Queer Black Britain
2022
Among all their more gratuitous fare, Channel 5 has a couple of real corkers and this is one of them! Through a mix of archival footage and talking heads such as Lady Phyll (activist and founder of UK Black Pride), the show takes us through pivotal figures and moments from the mid-20th century to today, spotlighting people and communities that are all too often sidelined in popular narratives about queer culture.
My Big Gay Prom
2007 // 2 episodes
Heartwarming two-parter about five British teens organising the UK’s first ever gay prom. While I personally find it weird that the UK has wholesale imported US prom culture, you cannot help but root for these queer teens wanting to create an inclusive experience for them and fellow students across the nation.
Nicola Adams: Me and IVF
2022
Olympic boxing champ Nicola Adams and her partner, model Ella Baig, take us through their emotional two-year journey to conceive their son, highlighting the hurdles same-sex couples face when starting a family. Nicola and Ella are a really engaging pair that you can’t help but root for! As well as their own struggles, they connect with other gay couples who share their experiences with IVF. This well-pitched documentary does a great job for lesbian visibility in general (and Nicola’s lesbian suits in particular) as well as the specifics of gay baby-making.
Out on Strike
1993
A lot of queer folk will have found a new appreciation for the 1980s miners strike courtesy of the beloved film Proud, but this short documentary takes a look at a different unexpected tale of queer love found during the strikes: two miners’ wives who met and fell in love! Told as a simple conversation between the two women, charting how they met when they became involved with Women Against Pit Closures, navigating their feelings for each other and the realities of uprooting their lives to be with each other, this is a engaging tale of coming out later in life and finding love.
Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne
2022 // 6 episodes
Who better qualified to take us through a weird and wonderful journey of all things sex than infamous sex bench owner Cara Delevingne? Through six episodes, Cara explores a range of topics including orgasm, sexuality, gender, polyamory and porn. Fun and queer-inclusive without being overly irreverent, with Cara never failing to take the opportunity to visit Europe and get things scientifically backed up by various sexologists whose credentials I definitely trust.
Proud
2025
1985 saw the first ever pride march in Wales. This documentary gathers the organisers (who, back then were “scared and anxious” teenagers) to look back at that event and how life has changed since then for queer people in Wales. There’s some great archive footage from the 1980s that contextualises life as it was for gay people then, and a good range of talking heads giving their take on things.
The Secret of Me
2025
This powerful film weaves personal narratives with social and medical history to document the ruinous consequences of non-consensual medical intervention on intersex children. Jim Ambrose bravely recounts and confronts the events that led to him being surgically altered as a baby and then young adult, and being forced by his parents and doctors to be raised as a woman.
After a very confused childhood, life-saving support from the Intersex Society of North America and the queer community of San Francisco eventually led him to become an activist for intersex people. He was shocked to learn that his experiences were shared by thousands around the world – and the practice is still routinely followed in many countries today, thanks to the God complexes and outright lies of so-called medical experts.
The documentary starts with Jim saying very clearly that this is not a trans story. And his story isn’t – but the ongoing vilification of trans people and sweeping misconceptions around gender doesn’t fill you with confidence that we’re heading in the direction of everyone achieving the bodily autonomy that is their right.
Three Kisses and a Funeral
1995
This half-hour documentary, released shortly after the much-chronicled first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British TV in soap Brookside (which you can also stream), is an amazing time capsule of 90s lesbian TV representation! Particular standout moments: someone making a 4-hour VHS supercut of all moments featuring Brookie’s lesbian character years before YouTube was invented; presenter Rhona Cameron’s trademark oversized suits; literally everyone’s 90s lesbian haircut. This should be mandatory viewing for GCSE history.
Willem & Frieda: Defying the Nazis
2023 // 1 episode
Narrated by Stephen Fry, this excellent documentary chronicles the lives and actions of two little-known Dutch resistance fighters in World War 2. Why so little known? Because they were both openly gay, and purposely erased from the Netherlands’ history of resistance. Frieda Belifante (incidentally the first woman in Europe to conduct an orchestra) met Willem Arondeus, an artist, in Amsterdam and the pair worked together to forge documents to help hide the identity of Jewish people from the Nazis, saving countless lives.
US Military Transgender Ban
2025
This extended news piece follows two long-serving US military officers, Major Kara Corcoran and Lt Rae Timberlake during the first six months of Trump’s second term, as he attempts to put in effect his “Trans Ban 2.0” as Rae calls it. We have recent memory of the “choice” offered to over 4,200 trans service members to either keep their benefits by taking voluntary severance, or stay to fight for their right to serve, but this documentary offers personal perspectives, showing the destructive effect of the government on the people who lay their lives on the line for it.
Three More LGBTQ+ documentaries you can Technically stream for free in the UK but also, they’re Kinda Messed Up To Various Degrees
25 Myths About Lesbians
2020
This breezy documentary whips through the gamut of lesbian stereotypes from butch/femme dynamics to U-hauling, vegetarianism to hairy armpits, with the kind of irreverence you’d expect from Channel 5 (by which I mean you see boobs within the first two minutes). The longest section is about what lesbians do in bed so I think you can infer the intended audience for this!
Brianna: A Mother’s Story
Documentary that retreads Brianna’s Ghey’s horrific murder. While brave for her mother to speak out, a lot of time is spent on the murderers’ online evils without really investigating the role transphobia played.
Miriam: Death of a Reality Star
2024 // 3 episodes
This documentary mini-series charts the devastating impact of one of reality TV’s worst tragedies. In 2003, Sky TV aired a reality show called There’s Something About Miriam, featuring Mexican trans model Miriam Rivera being courted by a bevy of typical reality shows guys. BUT they weren’t open about Miriam’s trans identity, until the “reveal” at the end of the show. The fallout out from this gross concept was highly controversial, and this documentary explores that and the events that led to Miriam being found dead in her apartment several years later. While it makes some attempts to discuss the issues with gravitas, this documentary does succumb to the kind of tawdriness it’s pretending to lambast. So, it can’t really be recommended as a high quality show, but it does give all the details for anyone looking to understand more about the horrific consequences of reality TV (and TV in general) playing fast and loose with trans people’s lives.
You can also learn about this story through the podcast Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera.
Comments
thank you for this, so grateful to finally get some uk focused coverage! nicola adams is unfortunately also a transphobe :(
Gah! I hadn’t seen her comments before looking it up now, thanks for the heads up. You really can’t trust anyone…
thank you for this, so grateful to finally get some uk focused coverage!
YES! UK focused coverage! It makes complete sense you’re America centric which is why this always feels especially nice
Brilliant list, thanks Sally, I’ll definitely be coming back to this resource. I would also really recommend the ‘Queer Britain’ collection, free on BFI Player – great mixture of stuff on there.