E4's My Mad Fat Diary commissioned for a second series

18 February 2013

E4 is thrilled to announce the re-commission of My Mad Fat Diary, its original British drama series based on the real-life teenage diaries of Rae Earl which has been winning the hearts of audiences and critics since its launch in January.

Set in the 90s at the height of cool Britannia, My Mad Fat Diary takes an honest and hilarious look at teenage life from the perspective of Rae Earl (Sharon Rooney), a funny, music-mad 16-year-old who, despite an eccentric mother and her own body image and mental health issues, has a huge lust for life, love and trying to get laid.  The  show’s mix of refreshingly relatable characters, writing that brilliantly captures the painful and painfully funny aspects of being a teen, perfectly-pitched performances and nostalgia-inducing 90s soundtrack have had viewers smitten, with the audience growing week on week to a current consolidated average of 1.2m*.

Tom Bidwell will return as lead writer of the new 6 x 60 series commissioned for E4 by Piers Wenger and Sophie Gardiner.  Other names in Bidwell's writing team will be announced in the coming weeks.  The new series will reunite a cast, headed by newcomer Sharon Rooney as Rae Earl, and will begin filming in the summer.

Sophie Gardiner , Channel 4 Commissioning Editor for Drama, says: “Thanks to Tom Bidwell’s funny and insightful writing, and Sharon Rooney’s stand-out performance as the great Rae Earl, MY MAD FAT DIARY  has captured the hearts of the E4 audience, and we are delighted that the show is returning to E4.”

Executive Producer Jude Liknaitzky adds: “'We are beyond delighted to be able to take the stories and characters of MY MAD FAT DIARY to a second series.  We have been overwhelmed by the response to the show and can't wait to bring more of Rae's stories to life.  It is a joy to work with the creative powerhouse of Tom Bidwell, Rae Earl and Sharon Rooney"

The first series, which ends tonight at 10pm on E4, has also won plaudits for its portrayal of teenage mental health and body image issues, and for not shying away from the sometimes painful reality of being a teen, encapsulating the highs and lows in a funny, warm and relatable way.

My Mad Fat Diary is a Tiger Aspect Production.  Alongside Sharon Rooney as Rae Earl series one stars Claire Rushbrook as Rae’s Mum, Ian Hart as Kester, Nico Mirallegro as Finn, Jodie Comer as Chloe, Dan Cohen as Archie, Ciara Baxendale as Izzy, Jordan Murphy as Chop and Sophie Wright as Tix.

The final episode of series one of My Mad Fat Diary airs tonight (Mon 18th February) on E4, 10pm.

For press enquiries please contact Lyndsey Honour
lhonour@channel4.co.uk

  “I have pretty much lived this show, for real… As far as I recall, My Mad Fat Diary is the first British show to reflect this reality”
Caitlin Moran, The Times

And a few twitter reactions…

It's the last my mad fat diary next week and I don't want that to happen. I WANT TO BE IN RAE'S LIFE FOREVER!

my mad fat diary is one of the best shows in years. For the love of God please make a second series.

I absolutely love Mad Fat Diary - @E4Tweets have done a brilliant job with it. My favourite show right now (& awesome soundtrack!)

i love Rae out of my mad fat diary so much i want her to be my bestfriend

 

Editors Notes

*My Mad Fat Diary is currently attracting an average consolidated audience of 1.2m, when taking transmissions across the week into account.

My Mad Fat Diary launched on E4 on Monday January 14th

My Mad Fat Diary is adapted from Rae Earl’s book of her teenage diaries of the same name, published by Hodder.

 

 

Set in the 90s at the height of cool Britannia, My Mad Fat Diary takes an honest and hilarious look at teenage life from the perspective of Rae Earl (Sharon Rooney), a funny, music-mad 16-year-old who, despite an eccentric mother and her own body image and mental health issues, has a huge lust for life, love and trying to get laid.  The  show’s mix of refreshingly relatable characters, writing that brilliantly captures the painful and painfully funny aspects of being a teen, perfectly-pitched performances and nostalgia-inducing 90s soundtrack have had viewers smitten, with the audience growing week on week to a current consolidated average of 1.2m*.

Tom Bidwell will return as lead writer of the new 6 x 60 series commissioned for E4 by Piers Wenger and Sophie Gardiner.  Other names in Bidwell's writing team will be announced in the coming weeks.  The new series will reunite a cast, headed by newcomer Sharon Rooney as Rae Earl, and will begin filming in the summer.

Sophie Gardiner , Channel 4 Commissioning Editor for Drama, says: “Thanks to Tom Bidwell’s funny and insightful writing, and Sharon Rooney’s stand-out performance as the great Rae Earl, MY MAD FAT DIARY  has captured the hearts of the E4 audience, and we are delighted that the show is returning to E4.”

Executive Producer Jude Liknaitzky adds: “'We are beyond delighted to be able to take the stories and characters of MY MAD FAT DIARY to a second series.  We have been overwhelmed by the response to the show and can't wait to bring more of Rae's stories to life.  It is a joy to work with the creative powerhouse of Tom Bidwell, Rae Earl and Sharon Rooney"

The first series, which ends tonight at 10pm on E4, has also won plaudits for its portrayal of teenage mental health and body image issues, and for not shying away from the sometimes painful reality of being a teen, encapsulating the highs and lows in a funny, warm and relatable way.

My Mad Fat Diary is a Tiger Aspect Production.  Alongside Sharon Rooney as Rae Earl series one stars Claire Rushbrook as Rae’s Mum, Ian Hart as Kester, Nico Mirallegro as Finn, Jodie Comer as Chloe, Dan Cohen as Archie, Ciara Baxendale as Izzy, Jordan Murphy as Chop and Sophie Wright as Tix.

The final episode of series one of My Mad Fat Diary airs tonight (Mon 18th February) on E4, 10pm.

For press enquiries please contact Lyndsey Honour
lhonour@channel4.co.uk

  “I have pretty much lived this show, for real… As far as I recall, My Mad Fat Diary is the first British show to reflect this reality”
Caitlin Moran, The Times

And a few twitter reactions…

It's the last my mad fat diary next week and I don't want that to happen. I WANT TO BE IN RAE'S LIFE FOREVER!

my mad fat diary is one of the best shows in years. For the love of God please make a second series.

I absolutely love Mad Fat Diary - @E4Tweets have done a brilliant job with it. My favourite show right now (& awesome soundtrack!)

i love Rae out of my mad fat diary so much i want her to be my bestfriend

 

Editors Notes

*My Mad Fat Diary is currently attracting an average consolidated audience of 1.2m, when taking transmissions across the week into account.

My Mad Fat Diary launched on E4 on Monday January 14th

My Mad Fat Diary is adapted from Rae Earl’s book of her teenage diaries of the same name, published by Hodder.