Interview with writer Caroline Moran

5 April 2022

What’s Hullraisers about?

It’s about three women finding out who they are, and enjoying themselves, in three very different ways.

 

How did you get involved with Hullraisers?

Lucy and Anne-Marie had been developing things for a while, before I joined. It’s been great to be one of three working-class women writing about three working-class women.

 

What does the working-class element add to the show?

I grew up in a council house on benefits and seeing working-class life on TV was very affirming. There were these funny, intelligent, characters who weren't just the butt of the joke, but the people making the jokes. There have been, lately, a lot of middle-class, aspirational shows. Hullraisers has a different take.

 

Lucy talked about her worries about offending people from Hull …

I know how she feels. I co-created Raised by Wolves so I had those same feelings about representing Wolverhampton. But because this is Lucy's creation, it’s very authentic and it's not about Hull being the butt of the joke, it's about showing how intelligent and funny and creative the people there are.

 

Did you know Hull yourself?

Not really. But in the same way that Wolverhampton is often a punchline to a joke, I feel Hull has had that same position at times, so I’ve felt that pain! But what comes from being overlooked is local pride and a sort of self-deprecating humour. Lucy doesn't want to send the place up, she wants to celebrate it.

 

How do you describe the tone of the dialogue?

That’s how I talk to my sisters. Maybe it's a particularly working-class thing. We haven't got time to fanny about, so we’re not passive aggressive. I'm always a bit confused by people who don't say what they think. It’s a gift as a comedy writer for characters to speak how they feel, and to be blunt with one another, the way Toni, Rana and Paula do.

 

How would you describe their attitude towards motherhood?

You see in some shows a depiction of the cult of parenthood, and it's all about how you take your self-worth from parenting. But if you haven't got a lot of money, and you're busy, you don't see the world that way. You haven’t got time to be neurotic about your parenting choices.

 

How do you hope or think audiences are going to respond to this?

I hope it makes people laugh.