But while Joan and Lin are a familial force to be reckoned with, Alma’s relationship with her bestie Leanne is arguably the show’s cornerstone.
Willan and Adams first met doing cabaret in 2015.
“The first time Sophie saw me, I was singing Time to Say Goodbye in an Asda uniform,” laughs Adams, who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2022.
“And she saw me in a way no-one else in the industry has seen me. Sophie and I are genuine bezzies. And the number of times we’ve been on the Veuve Clicquot… because we’re fancy now. Working class people are allowed to have standards!”
Leanne is confident, optimistic and a grafter. A force to be reckoned with.
“Sophie wrote Leanne with me in mind,” Adams explains.
“She’s like how I hope people see me, but so often in my personal life, when you’re working class, you don’t react to things the way middle class people do. So when I get the word ‘no’ I’m like, ‘Well, why not?’
“My career went crazy, which is absolutely brilliant but it’s also mental. And in that period of time, I had the strength in this person that she’d written for me.
“And to be able to be seen by at least one person in this industry in the way that I actually am, rather than the way that people perceive me, because… I’m nearly six foot [tall] and I’m nearly six foot wide.
“I can’t be apologetic because I look like an apologetic giraffe! It’s just given me real strength and stability.”
Playwright and screenwriter James Graham recently called for more opportunities for working-class people in the TV industry.
Delivering the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival in August, he cited figures which suggest only 8% of people currently working in television are from a working-class background.
Graham, who wrote the play Dear England and TV’s Sherwood, referred to class as “everyone’s least favourite diversity and representation category” and said more attention should be paid to social mobility.
Ashbourne tells Willan: “I don’t think there’s anything on TV quite like it. I think you’re a brilliant role model for people that come from challenging or diverse backgrounds. And you don’t settle for ‘no’. You want the best and you are deserving of the best.”
Alma’s Not Normal will be shown on Two (at 22:00 BST) and on iPlayer from Monday 7 October.
