Funny Woman

What an astounding tour de force - Gemma Arterton is simply astonishing and owns every second on screen.

A rags to riches tale of nostalgia and the golden era of tv. Funny touching and always endearing without becoming treacly.

I am hoping that the 6 episodes are not the only time we get to see the life of Sophie Straw/Barbara Parker & the crazy 60' world of showbiz and it's characters.

I seriously believe that Miss Arterton has announced to the world that she is here to stay and her stay is on the rise again after her performances in this excellent show. A huge success and a great adaptation of a Nick Hornsby novel.

For me, Funny Woman was a fabulous accidental find ...so needed a laugh tonight after a bleak day. Thankfully Funny Woman gave the laughs I needed...Gemma Arterton is mesmerising on screen & perfect as comical Sophie Straw. Loving this show & need more...such a great find! Hope there's a series 2, 3, 4 etc...thanks for great television, such a rarity today... Sophie Straw aka is Barbara Parker from Blackpool; Funny Woman is set in the swinging 60's & Barbara is off to London to make a better life for herself. This she does with gusto & great humour...love the music too! Great watch tv that is essential viewing...

Had assumed this was going to be a pretty predictable romcom or such given the trailers but it actually turned out to be a really nice heartfelt story of rags to riches with unexpected comic smarts from Arterton, who knew she could do comedy. There's ups and downs to her fortune along the way so not all rise and rise. It's not just Arterton who does well though, the whole cast are great, Everett, Batemen, Davies and Ali all contribute to a very enjoyable way to spend an evening. Unclear if another season is on the cards but I'd say there's legs in the characters but they'd need another story arc. Fingers crossed.

They've created the perfect, feel-good comedy drama with this. Everything about this just works. I can't think of anything at all which could make it any better. It's beautifully written, beautifully photographed and its optimism just makes you feel happy. You can't help but smile when you watch this.

In some ways it has a similar feel to the American show, MRS MAISEL but because the characters are more normal it's a little more relatable. It's instantly engaging and you yourself are fully on board with Sophie's journey. Gemma Arterton was born to play this role.... and Rupert Everett is hilarious.

There should be more of these feel good nostalgic TV programmes. Lovely period piece set in the 1960s. Main character Barbara obviously based on Lucille Ball who was the famous zany female at that time and very pretty. Loved that Barbara was northern which as well as being female challenge to getting a comedic part on TV. Would have scored 10 except I think the story was stretched out a bit toward the end and could have been told in less than six episodes. Gemma Arterton plays the part very well indeed and I note is on the production team. Some clumsy, obvious efforts to try and raise 21st century woke issues.