The first two weeks were spent filming our scenes with just Jake and me. And I was like “God I hope she’s happy, I hope she’s OK.”

I came to Paris at the monitor and she was crying and she said, ‘I think you finally captured me. It was exactly how I want you to do it Ellis.’ I thought, ‘Oh, thank God.’ I feel like I could just breathe easier, that maybe I’ve found her.

Obviously, all you want to do as an actor is capture someone’s nuance and complexity, and you want to do that with respect.

GLAMOUR: In light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, what does being part of Paris’ story and bringing it to the screen mean to you? What do you all hope it does in terms of representing and reaching the trans community?

Hannah: When we were filming it we knew it was important. As a person who has experience, I know how important it is to tell these stories and for people to hear these stories. The true part of it, not just the glamourisation of a trans woman doing Vogue. The nitty-gritty of what it is like to be a real working-class trans person… The fact that our mere existence is being debated is truly insane because we are here, we have been here, we will be here.

Hopefully, the show brings a humanity to trans people that people don’t see in the media. In a lot of media, we see trans people as “the trans character”. What I love about this show is that Sasha, Byron, and Di [Laquarn’s character] are just characters that just so happen to be trans. It’s not their main storyline, it’s not their through-line, and it’s not their be-all end-all. I think that’s really important.

Ellis: I think we all feel lucky as queer people to be … this is the first time a trans person has written their own show for the BBC. I feel like we were, just each day, pinching ourselves like, ‘Oh my God, how lucky are we to be a part of this thing which is so unflinching, so unrestrained, so complex, so triumphant, and traumatic?’

I echo what Hannah is saying. This is technically a period piece, within the Y2K. To understand that trans people have been here for millennia and will continue to be after this precarious political moment is passed.

I just hope for queer people at whatever age, at this moment, if I could wish anything, it would be that the show can provide community, can provide light, and can softly rustle open a door that feels closed right now. One of the things for me, as a queer lad being in this, I felt like I had a renaissance during my time of filming because I felt more seen than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I really hope that this show does that for other people.

Enda Bowe/BBC