Comedy hero

Diane Morgan on why we will root for her new sitcom character

- STEVEN PERKINS

When TV Times joins Diane Morgan for a video call, she’s very nervous. Not about our interview (phew!), but about the fact that her new BBC2 comedy, Mandy, is very much her own work – she plays the titular character, writes the scripts and directs it!

‘I’m so terrified!’ admits Diane, 44, whose recent credits include straight-talking single mum Liz in BBC2’s Motherland and quirky head of advertising Kath in After Life. ‘I don’t know what I’ve done!’

The six-part series sees chainsmoking Mandy attempting to make her mark on the world, whether by winning a line-dancing competition or simply getting a job.

Here, Diane tells us about her inspiration for the character and conquering her fears…

Mandy started life as an episode of BBC2’s Comedy Shorts last year – how excited were you when the Beeb ordered a full series?

I was amazed that they’d offered me more! Because they’re quite short [each episode is 15 minutes], you can’t do anything sprawling – you have to have one joke with a beginning, a middle and an end. They’re quite difficult to write!