Izzy, the actress and drag performer known for her role as Zee Malone in Channel 4's new miniseries Tip Toe, has called for the "whole system" to be dismantled to secure equal rights for trans people. Speaking at the London Trans+ Pride 2026 press launch, she emphasised that the fight for equality is far from over.
Call for systemic change
"We just need the same rights as everyone else for once," Izzy said. "It's literally everything. So, from the ground up, everything needs to be changed." She added that the system should be overhauled not only for trans people but also for people of colour, disabled people, and "pretty much every single minority."
Izzy acknowledged the scale of the task but expressed hope that younger generations will drive the change. "I get it's a lot of work, but I think it's slowly coming," she said. "And I do believe like our generation is the generation to stand screaming as loud as we can."
Message to allies
Izzy urged heterosexual allies to speak up when they witness something "isn't correct," but stressed that this doesn't always mean aggressive confrontation. "I think you can just kind of educate people to the best of your ability," she said.
She admitted she had previously been nervous about challenging people on issues affecting Black people and people of colour during the Black Lives Matter movement. "I remember being scared to pull people up on things because I didn't feel like I quite had the education or the words," she said. But she realised people need to "push through" that fear and focus on their intentions: "People will always understand your intentions, and, as long as you lead with the correct intentions, they can't kind of be misunderstood no matter what language you use."
Representation on TV
Izzy also called for greater representation of trans people on television, but wants to see them in roles where their gender identity isn't the central focus. "It's getting better," she said about visibility on TV. "I still would like to see trans people take up space on television that has nothing to do with them being trans." She added: "I love being trans and I love telling those stories, but it's not my only story."
Izzy, who also played Kitty Draper in Hollyoaks and Valerian in Disney+'s Renegade Nell, as well as performing as drag persona Seriah Sis, said trans people are often shown through their "trauma and grief." She stressed there is much more to their lives: "I'm so much more, not just me, but I, as in the trans person, is so much more than just the trans experience. I would like to start to see trans actors take up space in stories that they just happen to be trans in."
Her comments follow the Supreme Court's April 2025 ruling that the terms "woman", "man" and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. The court stressed, however, that trans people remain protected from discrimination under the law through the gender reassignment characteristic and other protections.
London Trans+ Pride took place on July 25, 2026, with organisers describing this year's event as "Our Future, Our Fight." For Izzy, the fight for equality is about ensuring trans people can live their lives without being reduced to their identity. Her message is simple: there is still work to do.
