Is this the BBC's most outrageous comedy ever? X-rated sitcom about a tetraplegic woman contains some VERY explicit scenes – but is hailed as 'the new Fleabag'

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  • We Might Regret This was co-created by artist and writer Kyla Harris
  • READ MORE: BBC’s The Jetty divides opinion as critics call Jenna Coleman drama a ‘soggy summer washout that misses the mark’ – but others make comparisons to Happy Valley

It’s not often that a comedy drama will show the unfiltered reality of living with a serious disability, but new BBC’s series We Might Regret This does just that and has won praise for it – with many hailing it the ‘new Fleabag’.

The programme, which is considered by some to be the among the most outrageous produced by the broadcaster – was created by Toronto-born artist Kyla Harris, who moved to the UK some 10 years ago. 

Kyla, who co-wrote and created the show with long-time friend Lee Getty, is tetraplegic. She is a wheelchair user, who has some use of her arms.

Though fictional, the series is inspired by some of the experiences shared by the two friends when Lee was working as Kyla’s personal assistant (PA) some decades ago, a job she accepted not long after they met (which they now describe as a ‘total risk’), but which ultimately yielded a strong bond.

Lee does not appear onscreen, but Kyla does, playing a 30-something Canadian artist and tetraplegic Freya who has moved to London for 50-something lawyer Abe (played by Darren Boyd) with whom she’s having a fast-moving relationship, with the two moving in together.

Toronto-born Kyla Harris (pictured) co-created comedy drama series We Might Regret This with her friend and former PA Lee Getty

Toronto-born Kyla Harris (pictured) co-created comedy drama series We Might Regret This with her friend and former PA Lee Getty

Kyla Harris (pictured, left) playing Freya in We Might Regret This with fellow actor Elena Saurel (who plays her friend and PA Jo)

Kyla Harris (pictured, left) playing Freya in We Might Regret This with fellow actor Elena Saurel (who plays her friend and PA Jo)

Because of her disability, they also live with her personal assistants (PAs), meaning there is always someone in earshot of the couple – whether they are enjoying a romantic moment or having a domestic screaming match. 

The bold series immediately shows viewers that it is unafraid to push boundaries, with the first episode opening on a sex scene between Freya and Abe. However, the moment is ruined when a PA comes into the room.

Within the first few minutes of the programme, the PA asks Freya invasive questions about whether she has sensation ‘down there’.

This is something that Kyla has experienced in her real life, as she discussed on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour.

Speaking about how she hopes the programme may help people understand disability better, Kyla said: ‘I am a wheelchair user…I need assistance with daily activities and personal care. 

‘So for instance, I need people to…open doors for me or help me pee, and so I’d have 24 hour care to assist with that.’

She went on to explain the misconceptions, prejudice and ableism that affects disabled people evert day.

‘We’re hoping that We Might Regret This is an antidote to that,’ Kyla continued. ‘Lee was my personal care assistant on and off for 10 years.’

The groundbreaking series does not shy away from topics like sex, opening the first episode with a raunchy scene (pictured: actors Darren Boyd and Kyla Harris)

The groundbreaking series does not shy away from topics like sex, opening the first episode with a raunchy scene (pictured: actors Darren Boyd and Kyla Harris)

Kyla (pictured) hopes the series will help people view disability with less fear. She has said she wants to 'contribute to changing how people currently define disability and the disabled experience'

Kyla (pictured) hopes the series will help people view disability with less fear. She has said she wants to ‘contribute to changing how people currently define disability and the disabled experience’

In a BBC interview promoting the series, Kyla further explained this idea, saying: ‘So much of what we see on screen about disability is made by non-disabled people, they’re often stories of tragedy or inspiration and really shape how people view disability – both for non-disabled people and how disabled people internalise stories about themselves. 

‘As disabled people are the most underrepresented group in front of and behind the screen, we really want to contribute to changing how people currently define disability and the disabled experience.’

The writer has been extremely open in describing this experience, telling Women’s Hour that one thing that happens regularly is that a lot of people ‘feel more more emboldened to ask [my PA] questions’ about Kyla, rather than speak to her directly.

Like in the first episode of the show, often these would be extremely intrusive, including asking Lee whether Kyla ‘can have sex?’. 

According to the writer and artist: ‘I get it all the time. 

‘My biggest teacher in life has been being disabled, right? And it has taught me to undo so much of what I’ve learned about value worse, perception and loving yourself and that being the most important ingredient to life.’

In the series, Freya struggles to find the right person to be her PA – a deeply intimate role – and so asks her chaotic and impulsive best friend Jo (played by Elena Saurel) to take the job.  

According to Kyla, We Might Regret This is 'the only TV series with a wheelchair user as the lead and co-creator/co-writer' at the moment (pictured L-R:  Elena Saurel and Kyla Harris)

According to Kyla, We Might Regret This is ‘the only TV series with a wheelchair user as the lead and co-creator/co-writer’ at the moment (pictured L-R:  Elena Saurel and Kyla Harris)

We Might Regret This examines the relationship between two best friends, when one of them helps the other with all kinds of things, including getting washed and other intimate activities.

As Jo herself says: ‘What happens when the person you love starts paying you to stay around?’

In a press release issued about the programme by the BBC last year co-creators Kyla and Lee described the series as featuring their ‘messiest and most joyous lived experiences of friendship, love and disability’.

One of the messiest moments has also been cited as one of the funniest by some viewers, with others branding it ‘groundbreaking’.

The scene shows Freya, who is struggling with constipation, sitting on the toilet.

Standing next to her, Jo is seen putting on a blue latex glue, before applying a lubricating gel to her fingers.

One of the many notable scenes in the programme shows Kyla's friend and assistant Jo trying to help her with constipation issues

One of the many notable scenes in the programme shows Kyla’s friend and assistant Jo trying to help her with constipation issues

Jo tells Freya that what she is about to do is ‘no big deal’, noting that she has ‘changed a bunch of s***** diapers before’.

Freya points out that she doesn’t enjoy being compared to babies, before reminding Jo that she just has to ‘put it in and give it a swirl’.

As Jo kneels by the toilet, it become clear that she is using digital penetration to try and stimulate a bowel movement.

After doing so, she moves away, trying to hide from Freya that she is retching, however, her friend notices, describing it as ‘so humiliating’.

In response, Jo pulls down her own trousers, telling Freya to do the same thing to her, adding: ‘Do it for equality’s sake!’ 

It’s just one of the scenes which makes We Might Regret This so unlike any other shows – despite featuring multiple moments which directly reflect the experiences of Kyla and other people with disabilities.

Describing it as ‘unique and highly authored’, Alex Smith, the executive producer and creative director of Roughcut TV (one of the companies involved in the production of the series) noted that the series would be groundbreaking, saying it will ‘engage comedy and drama lovers like nothing before’.

Meanwhile, Alix Jaffe executive vice President of Village Roadshow Television, which was also involved in the production, described the concept as ‘incredibly original’, and said that the ‘lived experiences of Kyla and Lee’ make the content ‘even richer’.

Kyla has also discussed what makes the programme unique, saying: ‘The dynamic between two women who are best friends, existing in a family is unique to the show. At the time of release it’s also the only TV series with a wheelchair user as the lead and co-creator/co-writer.’ 

Meanwhile, Lee said: ‘It’s one of the few female perspectives on disability and care on screen. 

‘It also centres a disabled character, but does not make them being disabled the “conflict”, but rather it’s a series about complex characters and messy relationships explored through a disabled lens.’ 

While the series features a disabled protagonist, the co-creators have noted that her disability is not the 'conflict' of the story

While the series features a disabled protagonist, the co-creators have noted that her disability is not the ‘conflict’ of the story

One of the scenes in which this dynamic is explored shows Freya having to urinate, but finding that the accessible toilet is out of order.

She and Jo have to find an alley, before Freya uses a catheter and bottle to empty her bladder. The incident, which leaves Jo covered in urine, is both funny and deeply moving.

These moments are crucial when it comes out to what Kyla and Lee set out to achieve with the series.

According to Kyla: ‘I really hope people come away with less fear of disabled people, the idea of becoming disabled and prejudice towards mobility devices. 

‘So much of what we know about the above is based on learnt perception, for example, the only difference between a bicycle and a wheelchair is the judgement we place on a wheelchair as a mobility device, when actually wheelchair’s are the most freeing modes of transportation.’

We Might Regret This is available on BBC iPlayer.




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