ENGLISH actress Gemma Arterton is excited to be playing Sophie Straw again for Sky’s Funny Woman and chats about how much the character inspires her.

Whether a woman can have it all is still up for debate. But it’s one of the reasons why English actress Gemma Arterton chooses fulfilling work that she really loves and intuitively feels right.

The 38-year-old, who made her feature film debut in the comedy St Trinian’s in 2007 and portrayed MI6 agent Strawberry Fields in the James Bond film Quantum Of Solace, isn’t necessarily geographically bound but just hates being away from her son, she quietly welcomed in December 2022 with husband and former Peaky Blinders star Rory Keenan, for too long.

READ MORE: Funny Woman: St Helens features in second series of Sky show

And since returning as charismatic comedian Sophie Straw for the second season of Sky’s Funny Woman, Arterton has learnt a few key lessons about why it’s important to have tunnel vision when navigating your career as a woman.

Particularly listening to what’s right for her, not being so led by others and appreciating the qualities that make her unique.

Though we meet Sophie on a high, breaking into Hollywood as the nation’s favourite TV comedy star, trouble is just around the corner. Not only does her sitcom flop, but Sophie also uncovers a heartbreaking family secret, before she escapes to take on a lead role in a film opposite a glamorous French movie heart-throb.

Arterton talks about where Sophie’s sense of humour comes from, and how much things have changed for women in comedy in the UK.

WHAT SIMILARITIES ARE THERE BETWEEN THE WORLD IN THE 6OS AND THE WORLD NOW IN TERMS OF WOMEN IN COMEDY?

It’s a totally different world, there are more women in comedy now. In the 60s, there was Lucille Ball in America, but in the UK, we hadn’t had our big moment yet. That sort of happened in the 70s, with The Liver Birds and then French and Saunders, which changed everything.

And since then, it’s been progressing, but I think now it’s really good. I’m sure there will be women in comedy saying it’s still terrible, but from an outsider’s perspective, I think, compared to the 60s, it’s totally different.

I guess where we are in season two, is that Sophie is having that moment. She’s the lead in her own sitcom and coming up against it, in terms of what she can and can’t do. It flops as well. She’s having to conform to an old-school style of comedy, which is a little bit sexist.

But during the season, she starts to believe in herself, that she can write it, use her own experience and then come up with something called Flat Birds – which is sort of based on Liver Birds – and the beginning of the change.

Nowadays, I look upon all these women who are writing as well as creating. It’s very different. Even in the last 10 years, I think it’s changed a lot.

WHERE WOULD YOU SAY SOPHIE’S SENSE OF HUMOUR COMES FROM?

That’s a question Sophie has in this season, ‘Where is my funny from?’ I think it’s innate in her. I don’t know if it’s an inherited thing, but I think it’s definitely something that’s conditioned by the way she grew up, and her dad and their shared love of comedy, listening to the radio, The Goon Show and things like that.

There’s a family drama that happens in this season, which makes Sophie also question who she is and where her sense of humour comes from, but she doesn’t believe in it yet or trust herself.

Some people are just born funny and witty but it’s also because she’s grown up with and surrounded herself with comedy.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT PLAYING A WOMAN WHO’S VERY DEDICATED TO CONTENDING AGAINST CULTURAL NORMS DURING THAT TIME?

Do you know what I like about Sophie? She’s not militant or a natural feminist. She’s a little bit scared, actually, to be in that world. And in this season, it’s Marge and Diane that really push her to get involved with that. I think she knows deep down what’s right.

I think that’s something that I remember, even in recent times, when we had all this me too and time’s up stuff happening. There were definitely actresses who were a bit worried about jumping on that bandwagon because they didn’t want to be seen as political.

I think Sophie deals with that a little bit too, so as much as she’s trying to resist being political, the things that are happening in her life, that she is seeing and experiencing, lead her to go, actually, no, ‘I need to be involved in this’.

At the end of the 60s, it was a really amazing time, culturally, but also for women. There were a lot of birth control, and abortion rights and a lot of things changed. She was living in this time and became a part of it. So it would be remiss of her not to get involved.

YOU’VE SAID THAT YOU HAVE A SIMILAR PERSONALITY TO SOPHIE, CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT?

A friend of mine always says, ‘There’s never a dull moment in Gemma’s life.’ I mean, it’s true, like there is never a dull moment. I don’t know why, that’s just my life, you know? I think maybe I attract chaos. But that’s the way it is.

I am quite a clown myself. If something’s a little bit dramatic or a bit over the top, even when things are really hard, I always sort of still have a sense of humour. I always have difficulty sleeping when I’m playing Sophie because I get too excited and buzzy. That kind of energy, her energy is quite high frequency. That’s the same as me.

I also tend to get myself into trouble because I don’t have that much of a filter. I will say what I mean, and sometimes it’s got me in trouble. At least I’m being myself.

IN THIS SEASON SOPHIE GET’S A BIG BREAK IN HOLLYWOOD, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR HER?

There’s this side of Sophie that is desperate to be really famous and the other side that isn’t as commendable, but she wants to be a star. It’s why she’s easily led by her Hollywood agent that she essentially harassed until he took her on.

He is very tempting for her and promises the world. It’s kind of attractive but her soul is in comedy and her show. She is battling with that a little bit and learning as she goes along about what’s important for her.

On location in St Helens

Much of the series is filmed in the Merseyside area and the North West, with directors having pinpointed landmarks and backdrops as settings for scenes.

St Helens was used in the first series, with the former Pilkington head office, at Alexandra Business Park, turned into TVC headquarters in the series.

Funny Woman series two is available on Sky Max and streaming service NOW from Friday, September 6.