On paper, Sophie Willan’s hit BBC show Alma’s Not Normal does not read as your every day, roll on the floor laughing type of comedy.
The semi-autobiographical show sees Sophie take on the central role of Alma, who is trying to support her drug addict mother all while turning to escorting in a bid to earn more than her weekly amount of Universal Credit so she can become an actor.
Set in and around Sophie’s hometown of Bolton, the show has been incredibly well-received - earning glowing five star reviews and a BAFTA win for Comedy Writing.
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But it’s been far from an overnight success - it's been years in the making and something that Sophie, 34, has been determined to use as a platform that doesn't shy away from subjects often seen as taboo.
Not afraid to peel back the layers of life, her stand up shows, like Alma’s Not Normal, have touched on the brazen realities of growing up in care, dealing with a mother with a heroin addiction and being a working class female from the north.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News in 2018, Sophie explained : “My mum was a drug addict. She’s not a character you would expect to love on camera. But she is lovable and funny.
“A lot of what I try to do is break down stereotypes with comedy. That’s what I know. It’s my world. I’ve drawn on my own experience.
“There is a lot of negative language surrounding mental health and I wanted to bring a bright, colourful and optimistic perspective on that.”
In 2018, Sophie was the first recipient of the BBC’s Caroline Aherne Bursary where she was awarded £5,000 to support development of her work, alongside mentorship and guidance while working on a comedy script.
She says that after receiving the bursary she immediately began working on Alma’s Not Normal which was filmed as a pilot before being commissioned for a full series, which aired in September last year.
“I’ve wanted to write this sitcom for years,” she told the BBC during a press junket for the show.
“As soon as I won the bursary I went straight into planning mode.”
Speaking about Alma’s Not Normal and the similarities with her own life, Sophie says she shares some ‘characteristics and life experiences’ with Alma but there are differences too.
“She is actually more like me when I was younger,” she explains.
“Or who I could’ve been if I’d made different choices; stayed with the ex, not moved to Manchester, not been to therapy, etc.
“What I like about her is her undiluted enthusiasm and optimism. She hasn’t quite come to that point in life where she doesn’t suffer fools, and there’s something lovely about that.
“She is incredibly raw, whole-hearted and unapologetically herself. She wants to be loved, wants to be normal, wants to be understood and wants to connect. I think we can all relate to that on some level. I certainly can.”
Sophie said she felt that being able to laugh at things has saved her life and allowed her to find a way of making topics, such as substance abuse and mental health, light-hearted and relatable.
She explained: “Humour is honest. It allows us to say the boldest, bluntest things without p****** people off.
“It keeps us sane when life has gone to s***. I think my ability to laugh and be funny has genuinely saved my life at times.”
In 2018, many became familiar with Sophie’s northern tones as she became the narrator of Channel 4’s reality TV series The Circle. It’s a role she had until the show ended last year.
But prior to all of that, Sophie was making waves with the theatre and cabaret group Eggs Collective and campaigning for opportunities for those from similar backgrounds to her.
In 2015, Sophie founded non-profit writing organisation Stories of Care, which develops the stories of unheard voices and empowers marginalised young people to tell their own stories.
Since then, the organisation has secured more than £100k in funding and helped to kickstart the careers of writers across the world of books, stage and screen.
Trafford Council employee Oliver Sykes, who is also Events Co-ordinator for Waterside Arts in Sale, joined Stories of Care in 2020 as Lead Artist and both have now been invited to receive an award at the Palace of Westminster next month.
Sophie and Oliver will receive the British Citizen Award (BCA) Medal of Honour for their services to the arts and for ‘improving access to the arts’ for care leavers and children-in-care.
In fact, Sophie even offered internships to young care-experienced people as part of the production of Alma’s Not Normal.
Stories of Care is something, she admits, would have been beneficial in kick-starting her own career.
“I found being from my background and experience has a glass ceiling,” she previously told the BBC.
“I couldn’t seem to break through to television until this award [the Caroline Aherne Bursary]. It got me in the room with commissioners so I could tell them directly who I was and what I wanted to make.”
Last month, Sophie became a patron for Bolton's Back-up North West charity, which helps young homeless people in the borough.
It's a service she used herself as a teenager when she needed temporary accommodation.
“Not only have I had the pleasure of partnering with Backup on several outreach projects over the years, I have also been a beneficiary of their organisation when I was a teenager," she explained.
"I know first-hand how important and life-changing their support is to young people.
"I’m excited to continue to support the organisation, work with their young people and fly the flag for one of Bolton’s most important charities.”
For Sophie, it's clear how Alma’s Not Normal is not only a real passion project but it is also helping to break down many glass ceilings when it comes to women, class, mental health, and addiction.
"I don’t think there’s ever been a storyline of a care-experienced person in a comedy and when we are on screen it’s very rarely positive," she added.
"As someone who’s personally been through the system and had my own records back, telling this story with honesty, humour, optimism and love was extremely important to me.
"Obviously everybody’s care-experience is different, but the episode where this is explored is kind of my love letter to Care Experienced folk."
Filmed in and around Bolton, it's also a chance to, of course, fully represent the north.
“The North (particularly Bolton in my opinion) has its own humour and way of coping - it always has had,” Sophie recalls.
“We’re naturally funny people. It’s in the DNA. We have a strong sense of culture and I’m proud of that.
“But also, that culture has evolved a lot and I personally haven’t seen any modern, cutting edge comedy in the North since Shameless... and that first aired nearly twenty years ago.
“I want to remind people that we can tell interesting, important, intelligent stories, whilst being funny and Northern too.”
Alma’s Not Normal is available on BBC iPlayer.
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