MOUNT PLEASANT series two continues on Wednesday 29th August on Sky Living
âSome of my lines are just so ridiculous that itâs hard to keep a straight face at times,â? says comedian Diane Morgan of her role in Mount Pleasant, which has just returned for its second series (but this time on Sky Living folks). âThey had to cut so much, but it was great fun to film, especially working with Ainsley Howard.â?
We start off chatting about the new series and its long-awaited return, but almost immediately our conversation turns to other matters, like stand-up comedy and – bizarrely – Dianeâs old job packing worming tablets.
âIt was awful,â? she says. âWe werenât aloud to speak or sit down. I actually do something on this in my stand-up and I think people think Iâm making it up.â?
As a Bolton native, Mount Pleasant isnât Diane’s first Northern-based sitcom. Earlier in her career (after the job packing worming medication, which she was sacked from) she landed a part in Peter Kayâs acclaimed comedy Phoenix Nights.
âI played the wife of a brewery owner,â? she tells me. âPeter Kay is sort of a friend of a friend. He knew that Iâd just finished drama school, and basically said that he didnât know any actresses, which is kind of how I got the part. It was another few years before I plucked up the courage to do stand-up.â?
So how was the transition from acting and stand-up comedy?
âNot as bad as I was expecting. But then I think everybody has bad experiences eventually. Probably my worst was at a drag racing event in a tent.â? She laughs. âIt was probably my tenth gig, and it was raining so hard on the tent that you couldnât hear me at all. I ended up getting slow-clapped off. It was awful.â?
Even years later, Iâm told, stand-up comedy doesnât get any easier, especially when youâre up against competitive comics on Mock the Week.
âIâve done it a couple of times and itâs not a massively fun experience.â? Diane laughs. âIt records for about two and half hours and a lot of the other comics bring a
whole ring-binder of jokes that they try and get in, so itâs competitive and very male dominated.â?
This brings us onto the subject of female comedians and Diane explains to me why stand-up isnât always a particularly appealing career choice for a lot of women.
âWell, you have to traipse around the country late at night and be shouted at by drunks,â? she says. âSo itâs not always a lot of fun.â?
In part, this is why Diane started collaborating with comedian Joe Wilkinson (Him & Her). Together, they perform as ‘Two Episodes of Mash’, a deadpan comedy duo, who (in Joeâs words) perform sketches that just âpeter outâ?.
âNeither of us really like double acts that try too hard to be likable,â? she explains. âI think we tend to like people who just donât seem to care.â?
After several successful performances at the Edinburgh festival, the collaboration has resulted in a BBC radio series and appearances on BBC Threeâs Live at the Electric.
I mention Dianeâs Edinburgh festival performances and our conversation steers towards the controversy surrounding this yearâs festival after several comedians told rape jokes.
âWe both had too much on to go this year, but I would have liked to have gone,â? she says. âI actually donât mind comedians talking about anything, as long as itâs funny. I suppose itâs really about context as well. But if somebody is genuinely funny, I think they can get away with almost anything they want.â?
