Gemma Arterton is drenched by exploding toilet and tangos with hunk as she turns blonde bombshell in explosive first look at Funny Woman series two

Gemma Arterton has reprised her role as 1964 Blackpool beauty queen Barbara Parker in the second season of Funny Woman , and if first looks are anything to go by, fans are in for a treat.

The teaser trailer for the second part of the award-winning Sky series was released on Wednesday afternoon, much to the delight of fans.

And although the film is only 22 seconds long, it shows the blonde beauty getting into some funny situations – from exploding toilets to dancing with handsome men.

The mini trailer promises that viewers can expect more laughs, more fashion, more dancing and more girl power as Barbara continues her journey as a comedienne under the stage name Sophie Straw.

The story opens with Gemma’s character asking, “Did you miss me?”, before we see her bursting out laughing with her friends backstage at rehearsals and getting wet from the toilet water.

The star shows off an array of glamorous outfits and hairstyles in the trailer, including a red ball gown, a fake moustache and a series of voluminous updos.

New faces in season two include Steve Zissis, Marcus Rutherford, Tim Key, Gemma Whelan and Roisin Conaty.

Meanwhile, Arsher Ali returns as Dennis Mohindra, David Threlfall as George Parker, Rosie Cavaliero as Aunt Marie Parker and Alexa Davies as Marjorie Harrison.

Also returning are Matthew Beard as Bill Gardiner, Leo Bill as Tony, Clare-Hope Ashitey as Diane and Alistair Petrie as Ted Sargeant.

The first season of Funny Woman premiered in October 2023 as a six-part series based on the 2014 best-selling novel by Nick Hornby.

The series followed Barbara’s journey from Blackpool beauty queen to comedy star Sophie Straw as she navigated the male-dominated sitcom industry in 1960s London.

In the second season she reaches a high point: she is the country’s favorite comedy star, she has a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is promising.

But disaster looms: Dennis’ divorce lasts three years, Sophie’s new sitcom flops and Sophie discovers a devastating family secret.

Sophie escapes the chaos by starring in a film opposite a glamorous French film star.

The film is a success and Sophie’s handy new American agent offers her a fresh start in Hollywood.

But Sophie returns to London, determined to get the gang back together and create a new show that reflects her real life, challenges outdated cultural conventions and proves that she and her friends are funny women.

Morwenna Banks, the series’ writer and executive producer, said of the second season: “It’s wonderful to delve back into the world of 1960s London with the extraordinary cast and crew of Funny Woman’s second season.

‘Thanks to the genius of Gemma Arterton as Nick Hornby’s heroine Sophie Straw, we’ve welcomed a whole host of new guest stars.

‘We welcome great performances from Steve Zissis, Marcus Rutherford, Tim Key, Gemma Whelan, Roisin Conaty and many more… Tune in to Turn On and don’t drop out’.

Gemma told MailOnline last year how she was immediately drawn to the role: ‘Barbara is such a great character and it was an iconic time for comedy and culture.

‘There was more and more sharp humor emerging from the working class, which was unusual for a woman at the time.

“I could hear her voice in my head, so when I got the script for the pilot episode, it felt like a stroke of luck.”

She talked about how difficult it is for women, especially working-class women with northern accents, to break into the comedy industry.

Gemma explains: ‘In America they had I Love Lucy and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but there were no women presenting their own shows until Victoria Wood and Jennifer Saunders came along in the 70s and 80s.

‘Comedy was extremely sexist and women were just secondary. The roles they got were the sexualised Benny Hill or Carry On roles. It was quite rare for a woman to make it in comedy in the UK in the 1960s.’

Of her own struggles, Gemma admitted: ‘People judge you by how you talk. There have been times when I haven’t had a job because people thought I wasn’t posh enough.’

She added: ‘Sometimes you have an affinity with characters, and Barbara is one of them. It felt natural to play her, and there’s a lot in there that I was allowed to leave out.

‘Things are much better now than they used to be, but the problems Barbara faced are still there, because there are still old-fashioned people working in this sector.

‘Hopefully many people can identify with this, because it is not only this sector that is affected by this.

“One of the things Barbara struggles with is that people judge her on her physical condition rather than her ability. That happens a lot to women in the workplace.”

Gemma worked hard to perfect her Blackpool accent, taking advice from a friend in the city and working with a voice coach.

She said: ‘He found a recording of two women from Blackpool chatting about this and that. I listened to it fervently.

‘Barbara’s roots are what defines her, what makes her special. At that time there weren’t many actresses with regional accents, and it’s only recently that they’ve been accepted into British culture.’

The new series Funny Woman will launch later this year on Sky Max and streaming service NOW