My Mad Fat Diary

Did You Know?

• The second series started on 19 February 2014 and ended on 31 March 2014, with each episode posted on 4oD a week prior to the television release.
• In November 2014, it was announced that a final three-episode third series would be made, set in 1998.
• The first episode of the third series attracted 548,000 viewers on E4, the second 537,000, and the final episode 450,000, excluding those who watched on All 4 and E4+1.

Plot

Set in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the mid-1990s, the series follows 16-year-old Rae Earl, who weighs 16 stone and has just left a psychiatric hospital after four months. She reconnects with her best friend Chloe, who believes Rae has been in France. Rae tries to hide her mental health and body image problems while impressing Chloe's friends Finn, Archie, Izzy and Chop.

Cast and characters

Sharon Rooney plays Rae Earl, a 16-year-old who has just left a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital and struggles to hide her mental health and body image issues from her new friends. Claire Rushbrook is Rae’s mum, Linda. Ian Hart plays Kester, Rae’s therapist. Dan Cohen is Archie, Rae’s close friend whom she briefly dates before he comes out as gay.

Jodie Comer plays Chloe, Rae’s attractive and popular childhood best friend. Nico Mirallegro is Finn, a boy Rae initially clashes with but later falls for. Jordan Murphy plays Chop, the group’s party animal who starts dating Izzy and later stands up for Archie when he’s bullied. Ciara Baxendale is Izzy, the sweet, ditzy girl Rae describes as never having a negative thought.

Keith Allen plays Rae’s father, Victor, in series two and three. Sophie Wright plays Tix, a psychiatric hospital resident and Rae’s best friend; in series two, it’s revealed she died from over-exercising and refusing to eat. Darren Evans is Danny Two Hats, another hospital resident who becomes Rae’s friend after Tix’s death. Bamshad Abedi-Amin plays Karim, Rae’s mum’s undocumented Tunisian boyfriend who later becomes her husband.

Shazad Latif plays Dr. Nick Kassar in series one. Eliot Otis Brown Walters is Big G, a bully who calls Rae “Jabba.” Cameron Moore plays PE teacher Stephen Carrisford. Sacha Parkinson is Stacey, a popular girl who used to date Finn. Susie Potter plays Amy, a tough girl in Stacey’s clique.

Critical reception

My Mad Fat Diary received critical acclaim throughout its run, particularly for its accurate and honest portrayal of mental illness and Sharon Rooney's performance. The Guardian's Sam Wollaston called it a lovely drama that is honest, painful, real, and very funny, and said Rooney's performance was natural, effortless and utterly believable. The Stage described it as a comedy drama that satisfies both genres, offering a unique and uncompromising perspective on adolescent angst.

The Art Desk said the first episode was touching, hilarious and perfectly cast. Claire Webb of the Radio Times noted the plot is as uplifting as it is moving, though the banter and gimmicks may not suit all tastes. Brian Semple of The Independent praised the show as a surprisingly honest, funny and moving account of a teenage girl living with serious mental health problems, free of many clichés, and said it would help change how young people think about mental health.

The mental health charity Mind honoured the show in their annual Media Awards in the Drama category in 2014 and 2016. In a more mixed review, Robert Epstein of The Independent criticised E4 for comparing the program to Skins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits, saying My Mad Fat Diary is not their equal in invention, edge or humour. Sharon Rooney was chosen as one of the first group of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits in 2013.