Gemma Arterton has reprised her role as 1964 Blackpool beauty queen Barbara Parker for season two of Funny Woman – and if the first look is anything to go by, fans are in for a treat.
The teaser trailer for the second instalment of the award-winning Sky series dropped on Wednesday afternoon, to the delight of fans.
And although it’s only 22 seconds long, it reveals that the blonde beauty will find herself in a number of funny situations – from exploding toilets to dancing with hunky men.
The mini trailer promises that viewers can expect more laughs, more fashion, more dancing, and more girl power, as Barbara continues her journey as a comedian under the stage name Sophie Straw.
It kicks off with Gemma’s character asking: ‘Did you miss me?,’ before we see her erupting into laughter with friends, backstage for rehearsals, and getting soaked by toilet water.
Gemma Arterton has reprised her role as 1964 Blackpool beauty queen Barbara Parker for season two of Funny Woman – and if the first look is anything to go by, fans are in for a treat
The teaser trailer for the second instalment of the award-winning Sky series dropped on Wednesday afternoon, to the delight of fans
The star showcases a variety of glamorous outfits and hairstyles in the trailer, including a red ball gown, a fake moustache, and an array of voluminous up dos.
New faces starring in season two are Steve Zissis, Marcus Rutherford, Tim Key, Gemma Whelan and Roisin Conaty.
Meanwhile, Arsher Ali is returning as Dennis Mohindra, David Threlfall as George Parker, Rosie Cavaliero as Aunt Marie Parker and Alexa Davies as Marjorie Harrison.
Also returning are Matthew Beard as Bill Gardiner, Leo Bill as Tony, Clare-Hope Ashitey as Diane, and Alistair Petrie as Ted Sargeant.
Funny Woman season one premiered in October 2023 as a six-part series based on Nick Hornby’s 2014 smash-hit novel.
It followed Barbara’s journey as she went from a Blackpool beauty queen to comedy star, named Sophie Straw, while dealing with the male-dominated sitcom industry present in 1960s London.
Series two sees her on a high as she is the nation’s favourite TV comedy star, with a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is full of promise.
But trouble is just round the corner as Dennis’s divorce will take three years, Sophie’s new sitcom flops and she uncovers a devastating family secret.
The mini trailer promises that viewers can expect more laughs, more fashion, more dancing, and more girl power, as Barbara continues her journey as a comedian under the stage name Sophie Straw
And although it’s only 22 seconds long, it reveals that the blonde beauty will be finding herself in a number of funny situations – from exploding toilets to dancing with hunky men
Sophie escapes the turmoil by taking a leading role in a film opposite a glamorous French movie heart-throb.
The film is a hit and Sophie’s slick new American agent offers her a fresh start in Hollywood.
But Sophie returns to London, determined to get the gang back together and to create a new show which reflects her real life, challenges outdated cultural conventions and proves that she and her mates are Funny Women.
Speaking about series two, Morwenna Banks, the writer and executive producer on the show said: ‘It’s a thrill to dive back into the world of 1960’s London – with the extraordinary cast and crew of Funny Woman series two.
‘Thanks to the genius of Gemma Arterton as Nick Hornby’s heroine Sophie Straw – a whole host of new guest stars have joined us.
‘We welcome stellar performances from Steve Zissis, Marcus Rutherford, Tim Key, Gemma Whelan, Roisin Conaty and many more …Tune in Turn On and don’t Drop Out’.
Gemma opened up about how she felt an instant affinity for the role to MailOnline last year, saying: ‘Barbara is such a great character and it was an iconic time for comedy, for culture.
‘More edgy working-class humour started to come through, and for a woman to be in that world was unusual at that time.
The first series followed Barbara’s journey as she went from a Blackpool beauty queen to comedy star, named Sophie Straw, while dealing with the male-dominated sitcom industry present in 1960s London
Gemma opened up about how she felt an instant affinity for the role to MailOnline last year, saying: ‘Barbara is such a great character and it was an iconic time for comedy, for culture’
‘I could hear her voice in my head, so when I was sent the script for the pilot episode it felt serendipitous.’
She spoke about how hard it was for women, especially those with working-class backgrounds and northern accents to break through in the comedy industry.
Gemma explained: ‘In America they had I Love Lucy and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but we didn’t have any women leading their own shows until the 70s and 80s when Victoria Wood and Jennifer Saunders started coming through.
‘Comedy was particularly sexist, and women were just accessories. The roles they got were the sexualised Benny Hill or Carry On parts. It was quite extraordinary for a woman to make it in comedy in the UK in the 60s.’
Speaking about her own struggles, Gemma admitted: ‘People judge you by how you talk. There have been times I’ve not got jobs because it was thought I wasn’t posh enough.’
She added: ‘Sometimes there are characters you have an affinity with, and Barbara is one of them. It felt natural to play her, and there’s a lot of stuff in there that I got to let out.
‘Things are way better than they were but there’s still an undercurrent of the things Barbara was up against, because old school people still work in this industry.
Gemma worked hard to perfect her Blackpool accent, taking advice from a friend from the town, and also working with a voice coach (pictured last year)
‘Hopefully lots of people will be able to relate to that because it’s not just this industry that’s affected.
‘One of the things Barbara struggles with is people judging her physically rather than on what she can do, and that happens a lot with women in the workplace.’
Gemma worked hard to perfect her Blackpool accent, taking advice from a friend from the town, and also working with a voice coach.
She said: ‘He found this recording of these women from Blackpool chatting about random stuff and I listened to that religiously.
‘Barbara’s roots are what define her, what make her special. At that time there weren’t many actresses with regional accents, and it’s only recently they’ve been accepted in British culture.’
The new series of Funny Woman will launch later this year on Sky Max and streaming service NOW
