Alma’s Not Normal is a hilarious comedy-drama series which started airing on BBC Two on April 7 as a pilot episode. The series was created by comedian Sophie Willan, who stars as the main character, Alma, and the story is loosely based on true events. Fans have been wondering when the next episode is due to air.
When will the next episode of Alma’s Not Normal air?
Willan was delighted to hear the series has been picked up for six episodes. Alma’s Not Normal should be airing on the BBC very soon.
The broadcaster has not revealed the exact release date for the next episode, but Express.co.uk will update this article once more information is available.
Alma’s Not Normal follows the story of an eccentric and quirky character, Alma Nuthall, who is trying to get over a recent break-up and face the fact she needs to get her life together.
She has no qualifications but is determined to make a better life for herself and her mum Lin (played by Siobhan Finneran), who is battling a heroin addiction and was sectioned for arson.
In the half-hour pilot episode viewers saw Alma inquiring about becoming an escort in order to make enough money to look after herself and her family.
The episode went down a hit with fans, with the BBC reporting more than a million viewers tuned in to watch, and it has received four and five-star reviews.
Willan created the series after winning the BBC’s Caroline Aherne Bursary Award in 2018, and she already had the idea for the Boltonian wild-child character.
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The entire series will be made up of six half-hour long episodes, including the pilot, and Expectation has come on board to produce the episodes.
Alma’s Not Normal has been praised for being showing an unflinching take on class, mental health and sexuality, as well as substance abuse.
Willan said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the fabulous response to the pilot and I’m so excited to be developing the series.
“I’ve already been using the lockdown as a chance to get cracking so I’m just pleased to have the official go ahead! I can’t wait to get it made and share the world of Alma with everyone.”
Nerys Evans, the creative director at Expectation, praised Willan’s ability to create such a powerful character from one episode.
Evans said: “Her writing is so authentic and intelligent; in just one episode she has created such a fully formed world.
“Her characters are beautifully observed and often flawed and sometimes challenging, but Sophie’s humour allows her to explore some really difficult subjects.
“I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds across a series as she’s bursting with brilliant ideas.”
In the series, Alma does not shy away from her personality and she is proud to be different, and in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Willan explained more about her character.
Willan, who is a care leaver herself, said: “The idea will be to do more stuff like this. This is inspired by my experience and it’s a story you don’t often hear on TV.
“I do a lot of outreach work with care leavers and I want to work with people whose stories are not often heard. I want to smash through those ceilings with my stories.”
The idea for Alma’s Not Normal came in 2012, but she just needed a platform to be able to bring it to life, saying it was hard to break the barriers of TV production.
With this in mind, she is all the more thrilled to be able to produce more episodes and let Alma’s story come to life.
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There is a powerful female cast in the series, with Lorraine Ashbourne also stars as Alma’s grandma Joan, who does not want anything to do with her daughter Lin following her downfall.
The series also stars James Baxter, who plays Alma’s boyfriend Anthony, and he dumped Alma a while ago to be with a younger woman.
Fans got to see how the break-up has impacted Alma and the lengths she would go to in order to convince her friends and family she was not hurting from it.
But by the end of the pilot episode she realises she has to move on, and starts looking for a new job to earn some money.
Viewers were surprised to see she was making calls about joining an escorting service, after hearing another woman she knew had started as an escort and was earning plenty of money.
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Willan said there would be lots more to come in terms of the relationship between Alma and her mum, as well as flashbacks to show what the family went through.
She said: “All the characters will be explored throughout, and her back story. There will be more detail between the mum and grandma and daughter and the trauma there.
“The relationship between the mother and daughter will be played out and you will see flashbacks, hopefully there will be mixed feelings.”
Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, said: “Alma’s Not Normal landed so wonderfully formed with its distinctiveness, heart on sleeve charm, sparky humour and knockout cast.
“Sophie’s raw honesty, eye for characterisation and comedic insouciance have resulted in a cracking show bursting with potential. We just couldn’t resist a series and hope it does the memory and spirit of Caroline Aherne very proud.”
Alma’s Not Normal airs on BBC Two soon
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