Alma’s Not Normal star Sophie Willan reveals season two at Manchester launch

Bolton-set comedy series Alma’s Not Normal is returning for a second season – and the show’s creator and star Sophie Willan has hosted a special preview screening on her home turf. Comedy star Sophie was at the Everyman Cinema in Manchester city centre to introduce the event on Tuesday night for invited guests.

They were able to watch the first two episodes of the BBC’s highly anticipated second season, which follows the life of aspiring actress Alma Nuthall (played by Sophie) as she navigates the ups and downs of her eccentric family and relationships in Bolton.

Sophie based the drama on her own experiences growing up in Bolton, and was joined by comedy stars Lorraine Ashbourne, Siobhan Finneran, Nick Asbury and Jayde Adams at the screening. They reunite in the drama as Alma’s grandmother Joan, her mother Lin and her partner Jim, and her best friend Leanne.

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Following on from the critically acclaimed first series, the second series was also set and filmed entirely in Bolton and the North-West and was filmed last year. It will return to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer for a second series this autumn.

The new series sees Alma back in Bolton and desperate for things to be different. But just as she begins to settle back into her life in Bolton, Grandma Joan has some shocking news that will change everything.

Sophie said: “It’s fabulous to be here in Manchester sharing a first glimpse of the new series with everyone. I’m dying of nerves but I hope people love it as much as we loved making it.”

Expectation executive producer Nerys Evans added: “The Bolton setting is such a big part of Alma’s Not Normal, so it’s brilliant to be debuting the series in Sophie’s territory. The show has been made by such a talented team, both in front of and behind the camera, so we’re incredibly proud of their work and can’t wait for people to see it.”

Created, written, starring and produced by Sophie Willan, Alma’s Not Normal centres on Bolton wild child Alma Nuthall and her family of eccentric and unruly women. It was Sophie’s brainchild in 2018 when she was the inaugural winner of the BBC’s Caroline Aherne Bursary Award.