IAN HYLAND
on last night’s telly
Alma’s Not Normal, BBC2 ★★★★★
Timely words on BBC2 last night as Bolton lass Alma outlined the daily routine of her good friend Viv.
“She gets up at the same time, sits in the same chair, eats the same biscuits and heckles at the same TV programmes.”
That’s been my life for many years now. I hope all you enforced latecomers are settling in nicely.
If you fancy a half-hour break from Holly and Pip or Homes Under The Hammer, you could do worse than catching up with this fabulous new show from comedian Sophie Willan. (Not in front of the kids though. It’s a bit ripe.)
If I was writing a line for the poster I’d say “Phoenix Nights
meets Fleabag, guided by the spirit of Victoria Wood.”
This rough around the edges pilot episode did more than enough to convince me BBC2 has a massive gem on its hands.
In a semiautobiographical tale, Willan plays Alma, a struggling actress who was brought up in care owing to her mum’s drug addiction.
Alma is flat broke with a credit card problem – and newly single after her childhood sweetheart acquired a younger model.
THE DIARY
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BBC, soon as you get back to normal – get a full series made