Acting
Oct 20, 1987
Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK
Sophie Willan
Acting
Biography
Sophie Willan is a British stand up comedian, actress and writer. Willan was born in Bolton in 1987 to a heroin addicted mother. Her early life was difficult and she spent time in care. She later worked as an escort, and sex work is chronicled in her show one-woman stand up show, Branded. She became the recipient of the first ever Caroline Aherne Bursary award from the BBC for 2017-'18 and has won several awards for her stand up, including Edinburgh's Best Newcomer in 2017. She narrates Channel 4 reality gameshow The Circle and is a regular in BBC1 sitcom Still Open All Hours, as well as appearing in festive comedy Click and Collect alongside Stephen Merchant and Asim Chaudhry. In 2021, BBC2 broadcast the first series of her BAFTA-winning semi-autobiographical sitcom Alma's Not Normal to critical and commercial acclaim. A second and seemingly final series was aired in 2024.
Feature Films (1)
To save his daughter's Christmas, Andrew goes on a road trip with Dev, his neighbour from hell, to buy an elusive Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess.
Click & Collect
Television & Series (29)
Famous faces move into Britain's best-known apartment block, in aid of Stand Up To Cancer, as they compete to be crowned The Circle's most popular celebrity player
The Celebrity Circle for Stand Up to Cancer
Players from all walks of life will compete to win up to £50,000. All living in one modern block but separately in individual apartments, the players will never come face-to.face, and can only interact with one another through an specially-designed app called The Circle.
The Circle
Big dreams, no qualifications and always herself. Mum’s been sectioned, Gran’s too busy, but after a messy break-up, wild child Alma aims to break free in Bolton.
Alma's Not Normal
One of Britain’s favourite comedians doing what he does best – being funny. But Alan Davies isn’t on a stage, or behind his QI desk sparring with Stephen Fry, or even wearing his Jonathan Creek duffle coat… instead, Alan is at his most relaxed and most natural – sitting around chatting with some of his best comedian friends.
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
Greg Davies is the Taskmaster, and with the help of his ever-loyal assistant Alex Horne, they will set out to test the wiles, wit, wisdom and skills of five hyper-competitive comedians. Who will be crowned the Taskmaster champion?
