Dragging up a willingness to perform

THE idea of a former Royal Navy officer learning to become a drag queen in a month seemed a bit of a frivolous start to new episodes of the series in which people adopt a new identity. But the psychological as well as physical barriers that ex-chief petty officer Spence Bowdler has to overcome make it compelling viewing.

He's spent more than a decade in a military environment. He's seen action in the Gulf and Bosnia but none of that prepare him for wearing five inch heels, lipstick, false eyelashes and dancing like a showgirl. Before embarking on his transformation with the aid of drag artist Dave Lynn, he'd never been to gay club or seen a live drag act. He says he's not homophobic although describes walking into a gay club as a hideous experience. He even has a panic attack when a dress he is to wear is taken from the bag.

Lynn tells him that he must forget his sexuality, although that doesn't mean turning into a homosexual. "You're not making love, you're making people laugh and entertaining them," he says.

At first, an exasperated Lynn imagines it's going to be impossible to turn someone, who's "completely blokish", into a drag artist capable of fooling three judges into thinking he's been doing the act for years. "You want to stop him and say, 'stop being so macho'," says Lynn.

Bowdler feels the situation is hopeless too. "Why am I doing this? I'm not going to be able to do it," he wonders, after seeing what's required of him. That he does succeed as Brittany Ferry, with the aid of a singing teacher and Lily Savage's dress designer, says much for all concerned.

I can't see investigative journalist Donal MacIntyre putting on a dress and prancing around in high heels, although he does seem willing to do almost anything in Wild Weather to illustrate his subject. This week's subtitle is Wet - and that's what he gets, frequently. He stands under a waterfall in Norway to tell us that the wettest city in Western Europe is Bergen, where it once rained nonstop for 83 days. Even the dogs have umbrellas. He goes diving under the ice in the North Atlantic and paraglides into a monsoon rain cloud in India. He discovers that in Texas they release chemicals into clouds to make storms last 25 per cent longer in a part of America that's desperately short of water.

The upside is that rain can make you feel good, although try explaining that to someone stuck in a shower without an umbrella.