Diane Morgan reveals secret superpower behind success after hitting big time with Ann Droid after 20 years of grafting

FOR more than two decades, Diane ­Morgan has slogged away at TV and stand-up comedy, winning millions of fans through cult favourites including Mandy and her hilarious character Philomena Cunk. But months after turning 50, she has finally hit the mainstream big time, playing a robot in surprise smash hit Ann Droid. Diane Morgan is celebrating her most successful role yet in BBC comedy Ann Droid Credit: Getty Diane has worked hard in the industry with stand-up and a series of television roles to get to this point Credit: Getty The BBC comedy tells the story of widowed pensioner Sue and her social humanoid Linda — and is exactly the kind of quirky nonsense that Diane has always sworn would be the secret to her success. She explained: “The thing my ­characters have all got in common is they don’t give a s**t. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! “It’s almost like a superpower – not caring. That’s exactly how people should be in everyday life. “We should not give a s**t about anything. It’s so freeing.” It is a refreshing take in a world where even our funniest comedians can try to turn simple stories into hot takes or worthy woke lectures. But that does not mean the star didn’t treat her rise to the top ­seriously. Some 20 years after Diana’s first stand-up gig at the age of 30, Ann Droid is being hailed as the BBC’s best original comedy since the likes of Gavin & Stacey and The Office. An average of five million people have watched each episode on TV and through streaming — exceptional figures in this day and age — and its makers, Boffola Pictures, has begun to develop a second run. Most read in TV The BBC comedy tells the story of widowed pensioner Sue and her social humanoid Linda Credit: PA Diane previously had a supporting role in popular BBC comedy Motherland Credit: Handout As the name suggests, the sitcom centres around robot Linda, who is purchased to look after elderly Sue, played by TV favourite Sue Johnston. The latter has been widowed for nearly two years and her son Michael, played by Paul Ready, decides to move out and leave her with the latest bit of technology. Diane said: “It is mad. We thought, ‘Is it gonna work?’ “Because there’s obviously a grieving woman at the centre of it and she’s got this robot. It sounds mad. She also delivered top performances in comedy Mandy, which earned a Bafta nomination Credit: bbc She is famed for keeping a straight face in silly interviews as Philomena Cunk Credit: BBC She told The Romesh Ranganathan Show: “It’s a big risk. You think, will it work or will it just be people going, ‘What the hell is that?’. It could very easily have gone the other way. “But then we had a couple of screenings where it went well. “Then I got hopeful. And I thought, ‘Oh, don’t get hopeful. It’s not gonna go well. Just get used to that now.’” Diane was quizzed about whether she was making a statement about the growth of AI. But she was quick to bat off the suggestion she had gone political, insisting: “No, no, no. I read this ­article about how in Japan they’re going to start rolling out robots for the elderly. “And so I started talking about it to my friend Pippa, who’s the producer on the show, and she’s like, ‘This is really funny. We should try and write this. “I was like, ‘Yeah, all right.’ I didn’t think it would go anywhere. “We were just literally trying to make each other laugh.” That same devil-may-care approach has been a thread throughout Diane’s rise to the top. Until Ann Droid, her absurdist comedy Mandy was the biggest string to her bow after Motherland. Following a pilot in 2019, BBC Two picked up the show and it has now run for four series, earning her a Bafta TV nomination for best female comedy performance. But it has always remained a cult, sleeper hit without mega viewing figures. In her typical deadpan tone, Diane said: “Mandy was a stupid physical comedy I wanted to do. Diane is in a long-term relationship with TV producer Ben Caudell Credit: 2017 David M Benett Diane is now relishing the ­success of Ann Droid and hopes the show is here to stay Credit: CREDIT LINE:BBC / Wall to Wall / Stephen Perry “There’s no message. Messages are overrated. With Mandy, I just want to do something totally stupid. It can never be big enough for me. “There seems to be such a lot of comedy drama. I just wanted something that was completely stupid and didn’t mean anything.” When Diane started working in comedy, she had been making ends meet with a string of jobs, including dental nurse, chip shop potato peeler, Avon seller and factory worker, packing boxes of worming tablets. It took her years to secure enough work in entertainment to be able to do it full time. She said: “I did so many s**t jobs and I tried everything from drama school to doing stand-up. Every ­conceivable angle, I tried it. “I went to drama school, but on my first day I said to the head of the school, ‘I’m not interested in ­Shakespeare’, which was a mistake. He didn’t like that! “I said, ‘I’m only here to get better at comedy’. They auditioned me and both my pieces were comedy. “I said, ‘I want to make it clear, I won’t be doing Lady Macbeth.’ And then they cast me as Lady Macbeth. “All the other girls were like, ‘What a bitch, she doesn’t even want it’. But I got big laughs. I did looks to the audience, little asides. The drama teacher was furious, but I’d warned him.” Diane bagged her first TV role in 2002 thanks to comic Peter Kay after writing him a letter asking for a job. She has explained: “I said I’m from Bolton [like Peter] and I want to be an actress — if you’re ever doing anything, let me know. And God love him, he got me in Phoenix Nights. That was my first TV job.” Diane played Dawn in one episode of the sitcom, but it was not the big break she had hoped for. In fact, it was such a small part, she was not even credited. But since then, she has been racking up the accolades. Joining Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, a satirical TV review show, in 2013 was a masterstroke by Diane. There, she debuted Philomena Cunk. She then gained a successful spin-off for Cunk, who is a parody of an ill-informed investigative reporter. Since then, the character’s mockumentary specials have covered everything from Shakespeare to Christmas, Earth and humanity. Now, Diane’s CV includes playing blunt single mother Liz in Motherland, which ran for three series and went on to spawn spin-off ­Amandaland, as well as being on Inside No.9 and The Cockfields. Diane has also worked with ­comedy genius Ricky Gervais on plenty of projects, including The Office’s big-screen spin-off David Brent: Life On The Road, plus his shows After Life and new Netflix hit Alley Cats. She said: “Ricky is very generous to work with and gave me some great advice. He rarely does more than four takes. He knows what he wants, knows when he’s got it and moves on very quickly.” But Diane’s place in the mainstream was confirmed when she joined a string of big names to compete on this year’s series of Prime Video smash LOL: Last One Laughing UK, hosted by Jimmy Carr. The aim is to make rival players chuckle, while not cracking up yourself. As she is famed for keeping a straight face in silly interviews as Philomena Cunk, she was expected to last the pace, but she was ­outdone by Bob Mortimer. Diane said: “As the game went on, I tried to catch people at their weakest. But it’s a tough game.” Diane is in a long-term relationship with TV producer Ben Caudell and they have worked together on projects including Mandy. Ben has also had success with hits such as Peep Show and Toast Of London. Now, Diane is relishing the ­success of Ann Droid, which looks set to be a mainstay on the BBC for years to come. But she confessed: “I didn’t sleep for a year worrying about how I was going to play a robot. It didn’t seem funny because you can’t do facial expressions. “So you think, ‘Where are you going to react? How are you going to react? How are you going to be funny as a robot?’” Turns out, be very funny indeed. Watch Ann Droid is on BBC iPlayer. Comment now