Alma’s Not Normal - fabulous comedy on iplayer

[Aslockton]

This comedy has won 2 BAFTAs and totally passed me by.

I have just binge watched it. It is funny, poignant, thought provoking and wonderful! It is written and starred by Sophie Willian and is semi autobiographical about growing up in care and the strong women in her life.

It has got an amazing cast, great characters and some hilarious storylines. Do give it a watch.

I love it.

AWW it is good the whole cast is excellent, Lorraine Ashbourne as her Gran is hilarious, have you watched it all ?

It’s a brilliant series - Sophie Willan is so talented, both as an actor and a writer. And the supporting cast are tremendous too.

Sophie Willan presented christmas sewing bee, i just found it by chance I don't usually watch it, anyway she is an absolute gem.

Lorraine Ashbourne

It's just brilliant - not enough people know about it. It's hilarious, but also handles some very dark material with a perfect mix of lightness and seriousness. Sophie Willan is a brilliant performer, and I'm just obsessed with Lorraine Ashbourne as grandma Joan 😁

Ah yes, i don't know why i typed Stanley

The story is based on her own upbringing…..her Nan is now dead …but think her mum still in the mental health system

I was within the time to edit so nobody will know 😀

Apparently the scenes where Alma reads her social care records are used in universities now to teach would-be social workers about the impact these written records have on young people when they access them.

I have watched all the episodes. The ones with her gran singing 'Non, je ne regrette rien' did not take much acting from Sophie. Those emotions were raw. I was sobbing!

I loved this series, so funny and beautifully acted. It did take the shine off when I found it was based on true life and she ended up turning to sex work as she needed money . It just made me really sad for girls born into shitty situations end up making those sort of decisions to keep their heads above water. Anyway, massive kudos to Sophie for her BAFTAS. She is amazing and she should be very proud of what she’s achieved.

It was just the best wasn"t it, grandma joan an absolute legend.

I discovered the series through this podcast where Sophie descibes the craziness of her childhood and the care system. I would love her to make a 3rd series with Julie Walters guest appearing.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sophie-willan-from-foster-care-to-almas-not-normal/id1407451189?i=1000741844906

I loved it too.

The social worker is played by Katie Redford, who plays Lily in The Archers.

And she wrote a radio 4 play called Yellow Lips about the effect a mum in the MH system can have…..

Katie’s Redford’s debut drama tells of a daughter’s memories of her mum’s struggle with mental health. Tender, moving but delightfully funny too. The young Jen never truly questioned the effect her mum's health had on her and her family. But looking back, with an older head upon her shoulders, she has the knowledge of how such an illness can affect the dynamics of a family.
A recollection consisting of vivid memories and images from childhood which seem so normal at the time are, with hindsight, far from it. The grown up Jen delves back into the past picking out certain moments and witnessing various events that have shaped the relationship she has with her mum. There are deeply painful moments but what shines through is the wonderfully creative and funny mum too.

Katie Redford plays the daughter and Lorraine Ashbourne plays the mum.

It’s all full circle innit?!

Available on Radio 4 for the next two months.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tmky

I love Sophie Willan and ANN. Sophie has to be our most talented comedian at the moment. She's genius

Yeah I thought it was fab too

Loved the show. Very sad for Sophie and the sex work as pp said. The poem scene was perfect.

I absolutely loved this series and so few people know about it. It was brilliant.

I’ve only just started watching this after a clip from the series came up on my Instagram feed. How did this pass me by? It’s so well written and made me laugh out loud. I’m off to tell everyone I know about it!

If you like podcasts, listen to Sophie W talking about it on Gaby Roslin’s podcast too.

We loved it in our family.

Brilliant. Funny, poignant, irreverent and SW is so admirable for getting to where she is today.