Arterton sparkles in Funny Woman, the bright, bold and brave new Sky Original based on the best-selling novel by Nick Hornby. <\/p>
As the title might suggest, Funny Woman<\/a> is a drama that puts the female experience of \u201960s Britain front and centre. But in an era when opportunities are in short supply, Barbara Parker just wants one thing: to be funny on her own terms.<\/p>\n The show\u2019s empowering message is what drew producer and lead star Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Murder Mystery) to the project. \u201cBarbara was a character that I feel like I\u2019ve always wanted to play and there\u2019s a lot of stuff in there that I got to let out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n From the outset, we see our heroine objectified by the men around her as she\u2019s crowned Miss Blackpool Belle 1964. Barbara\u2019s response, however, is to promptly leave her fianc\u00e9 and adoring father behind for the glitz of swinging London to pursue her dreams of a comedy career.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that Barbara struggles with is people judging her physically rather than what she can do and that happens a lot with women in workspaces,\u201d says Arterton. But having adopted the stage name Sophie Straw, she eventually finds herself with a lead part in a studio sitcom, much to the delight of her father, with whom she would recreate old comedy routines in the Blackpool rock factory.<\/p>\n Arterton spoke of her admiration for the character\u2019s trailblazing journey: \u201cWomen were accessories in comedy, and British comedy was particularly sexist. The roles that women had to do were the Benny Hill-type or the Carry On sexualized parts. It was quite extraordinary for a woman to make it in the 60s in comedy in the UK,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A cursory glance at the expanded cast list reveals a who\u2019s who of British female comedy actors of the past 30 years. Star turns include Rosie Cavaliero (Little Dorrit, Friday Night Dinner) as Barbara\u2019s domineering aunt, Doon Mackichan (Smack the Pony, Toast of London) as her prissy department store boss and the show\u2019s multiple award-winning writer Morwenna Banks (Skins, Catterick) as her agent\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n Adapted from Nick Hornby\u2019s 2014 novel Funny Girl, this Sky Original<\/a> drama evokes the optimism of the swinging \u201960s with a stunningly realised set design that seamlessly places the characters at the heart of the period\u2019s most iconic locations, including the West End and Soho.<\/p>\n From the sitcom set to the TV studio bar, not to mention sharp, refined costumes, the show\u2019s aesthetic forms the perfect backdrop to a joyous, daring and moving story. And though Funny Women sits firmly in the drama category, Banks\u2019s vibrant script ensures the next laugh is never far round the corner.<\/p>\n All episodes of Funny Woman<\/a> are available from 9th February on Sky Max<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Arterton sparkles in Funny Woman, the bright, bold and brave new Sky Original based on the best-selling novel by Nick Hornby. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":29825,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2023\/02\/gemma-arterton-brings-the-swinging-60s-flooding-back-in-this-new-drama.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Arterton sparkles in Funny Woman, the bright, bold and brave new Sky Original based on the best-selling novel by Nick Hornby.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/29824"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Finding her funny<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A trip down memory lane<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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