2-season Sky Original comedy drama based on Nick Hornby's bestselling novel 'Funny Girl' about Blackpool beauty queen Barbara Parker (Gemma Arterton) who takes 1960s London by storm, reinventing herself as comedy star Sophie Straw. She dreams of breaking through into the male-dominated world of TV sitcoms and becoming a major star. The second series was released in 2024 and saw her reach the heights of fame as the nation's favourite comedy star, but her fame also comes with many pitfalls and challenges.
Alistair Petrie starred in both series as the antagonistic Ted Sergeant, Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC, whose office Barbara first approaches.
The series was adapted for TV by Nick Hornby and Morwenna Banks. The show's impressive cast also includes Rupert Everett, David Threlfall, Tom Bateman, Olivia Williams and Morwenna Banks. Manpreet Bambra played Anya in the first series. Gemma Whelan had a cameo role in series 2 as Lynda Jay, a manipulative tabloid journalist who’ll do anything for a scoop.