It's been a week since Olivia Colman won big at the 2019 Oscars, scooping up the Best Actress award for her stellar performance in The Favourite. But the star will be making her return to the small screen on Monday night in the highly anticipated second series of Fleabag, a comedy written by and starring Killing Eve showrunner Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The series opener airs on BBC 1 at 10.35pm, with Olivia returning to her starring role as the titular character's nameless Godmother. Hilarious and passive aggressive, Olivia perfectly plays the character you love to hate, even earning the actress a TV BAFTA nomination for her performance, eventually losing the accolade to her co-star, Phoebe.
© Photo: BBCOlivia plays the Godmother in Fleabag
Based on Phoebe Waller Bridge's one-woman Edinburgh Fringe play of the same name, Fleabag follows an angry and confused millennial woman navigating life, love and friendship in London. Series two sees Fleabag grapple with religion in the wake of her father's engagement to Olivia's Godmother and features Sherlock's Andrew Scott as an attractive priest and the object of Fleabag's affections. Kristin Scott Thomas and Killing Eve's Fiona Shaw will also be joining the star-studded cast, with Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again star Hugh Skinner returning in his role as Fleabag's ex Harry.
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TV comedy has been Olivia's home for many years, having made her name in cult British comedies such as Peep Show, Green Wing and Hot Fuzz. The actress has previously won multiple BAFTAs for her TV performances, but it has been her performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite that has gained Olivia international recognition. The actress picked up the top gong at the 2019 Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Academy Awards for her performance opposite Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in Yorgos Lanthimos' dark comedy and was overcome with emotion when accepting her Oscar. Attempting to speak through her tears of gratitude, Olivia joked that the experience was "genuinely quite stressful" and "hilarious", before adding that "this is not going to happen again".
