Tributes have poured in for a beloved drag queen who was the main inspiration behind a hit TV show who died. Phil "Pinky" Lewis, died on August 23 in his sleep. He was one of the main inspirations behind Russell T Davies' TV series It's a Sin as the pair met at West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company in the 1970s.
Russell, the writer of the show, posted an emotional tribute on social media. He said: “The wonderful Pinky has died, what a loss. The lovely Phil Lewis.
“When I joined my youth theatre in the 70s, Pinky and his gang were camp, hilarious, wise and brilliant. “Camp became a way for us to express who we really are. Welsh camp too, the best!” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Russell T Davies (@russelltdavies63) Phil moved to Brighton and Hove to work as an entertainments manager at Butlin's Ocean Hotel in Saltdean aged 21.
After that he performed his drag act across Sussex. He is also known for founding the Pink Palace with two of his close friends, Jae Alexander a West End musical director and Jill Nalder, actress, activist and author and inspiration behind character Jill Baxter in It's A Sin. READ MORE: Stage at Brighton Pride's Fabuloso named in honour of Miss Jason The Pink Palace was the name of the London home where the trio lived, featuring heavily in the TV show.
Jill wrote a book titled Love From The Pink Palace which was published in 2022 which features the late drag queens on the cover of the book. Jae Alexander, Jill Nalder and Pinky on The.