James Walton

Sky’s Funny Woman is no laughing matter

Plus: Consent, on Channel 4, was all too on-the-nose

Barbara (Gemma Arterton), being crowned Miss Blackpool 1964, by the sexist mayor in Funny Woman. Image: ©Potboiler Productions / ©Sky Uk Limited 
issue 11 February 2023

  • Funny Woman

    Sky Max

  • Consent

    Channel 4

Nick Hornby’s 2014 novel Funny Girl was both a heartfelt defence and a convincing example of what popular entertainment can achieve. Telling the story of Barbara Parker, a fictional 1960s TV star, it took a stern line on highbrows who prize the punishing over the pleasurable, while delivering a lot of pleasure itself.

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