For one song, during Kitty and Nan's first performance in the adaptation, Davies wrote a composition that had Kitty show Nan-dressed and performing as brothers-how to pick up girls in the park. Waters wrote song titles but not lyrics in the music references in the novel. The music in the adaptation was written for the film. He wrote the line for her, 'I hate the way you make me feel', which according to Waters crystallises Kitty's complicated emotions well. Waters especially appreciated the way Davies interpreted Kitty's ambivalence about being in love with Nan. Both Waters and Davies were concerned about the use of dildos in scenes with Diana, but the BBC allowed it. Screenwriter Andrew Davies said he was attracted to the story because it featured a girl transitioning into womanhood and it included his interests in Victorian erotica he compared it to Pride and Prejudice-for which he wrote the BBC screenplay-'with dirty bits'. It was so utterly believable that you never for a moment thought, 'fuck, there's no reason why I'm standing here naked.' Stirling thoroughly enjoyed the role, despite her avowed heterosexuality: 'To counteract any hard-core sex within it, there's a huge sense of humour and a huge sense of fun and frivolity and joy of life. Waters was quite surprised that the BBC chose to produce and broadcast a television adaptation that faithfully followed the relish and detail of sexual escapades in the book. Sally Head Productions defended the decision to air the entire programme uncut. The BBC had previously aired an adaptation of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in 1990 and some other scenes in dramas to follow, but none had been so explicit in its depiction of lesbian sexual relations. The production was made available on DVD by BBC Worldwide soon after broadcast. It stars Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes, and Jodhi May.ĭirected by Geoffrey Sax, the novel was adapted by screenwriter Andrew Davies. It originally screened in three episodes on BBC Two and was produced for the BBC by the independent production company Sally Head Productions. Tipping the Velvet is a 2002 BBC television drama serial based on the best-selling 1998 debut novel of the same name by Sarah Waters. British TV series or program Tipping the Velvet

Tipping the velvet novel