Sophie Willan

Sophie Willan (born 21 October 1987) is an English actress, presenter, narrator, writer and comedian. She has won three BAFTAs for her television sitcom Alma's Not Normal.

Early life Sophie Willan was born on 21 October 1987;

In 2016 she took her debut stand-up series On Record, based on her experiences of growing up in and out of the care system, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A nationwide tour followed in 2017, including 10 dates at London's Soho Theatre and a commission to adapt the show into a BBC Radio 4 series, with a second series being approved.

Her second show, Branded, was an exploration of the labels applied to Willan by other people.

Television

Willan was the narrator of Channel 4'’s The Circle and was cast in BBC One's Still Open All Hours, She portrayed Carol in series 4 of CBBC's sketch show Class Dismissed and has performed comedy in Live from the Comedy Store

In 2020, following the success of the pilot episode of her sitcom Alma's Not Normal, which she wrote and starred in, as the title character Alma Nuthall, it was commissioned for a full series by BBC Two and broadcast in 2021. The Times said, "Willan's writing is skilled and clearly very personal... uplifting and strangely enchanting." In September 2025, Willan was announced as a guest judge on the seventh series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. She took over from Sara Pascoe as host of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee, starting with the Christmas Celebrity Special in December 2025.

In February and March 2026, Willan portrayed Bev in the BBC Two sitcom Small Prophets.

Other work In 2015, Willan secured funding of over £100,000 to create the multi-platform literary project Stories of Care, creating and curating short stories written by fellow care leavers. The project recruited care leavers across North West England to contribute to the creation of a published children's anthology for looked-after children

Personal life On 18 May 2025, Willan announced via Instagram that she and her partner, chef Carniel Francis Levy, were expecting a child. Their son was born on 30 November 2025.

Awards

Willan won a BAFTA Television Craft Award for Best Writer: Comedy for the pilot of Alma's Not Normal. At the 2022 British Academy Television Awards, Willan was awarded the Best Female Comedy Performance for her performance in the series, which was also nominated for Best Scripted Comedy.

In 2022, Willan received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton for her contribution to television and comedy.