From Bond to Miss Blackpool! Gemma Arterton slips into swimwear

Gemma Arterton was every inch the beauty queen as she was seen on-set of her new Sky Original show – a yet-unnamed adaptation of Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel Funny Girl – on Thursday.

The former Bond girl, 35, transformed into a Sixties siren while braving the chill on-set at Saint Anne’s on the Sea to play Barbara Parker, a charismatic young woman who holds the title of Miss Blackpool.

In an attempt to keep out the cold, Gemma started off the shoot in a black skirt and warm coat before peeling off the layers to wear just a white vest and knickers while her usually brunette locks were covered in an extremely voluminous blonde wig, teased into a time-appropriate beehive.

Gemma was surrounded by a bevy of stunners, all of whom were vying for Barbara’s beauty queen crown, which was placed on her head by the Mayor alongside a sash in a later scene.

Preening and posing, the esteemed actress ensured she pulled all the poses of a beauty queen as she sashayed along the stage with her number 6 attached to her wrist.

Her make-up look was much heavier than Gemma’s usual look, as she was seen with lashings of smokey eye make-up and a brassy slick of bright lipstick to complete her transformation into Barbara.

Later on in the day, she was in a wholly different ensemble as Gemma wrapped up in a brown coat with a tartan bobble hat and brogues – looking as though she was in some form of disguise.

Joining Gemma in the Blackpool-based miniseries will be Rupert Everett as Barbara’s agent Brian Debehnam, David Threlfall as her father George, and Tom Bateman as dangerously charming actor Clive. 

Fans will have to wait until next year to witness the spectacle where Barbara finds her comic voice in a male dominated world. Having upped-sticks in order to call London her home, the leading lady is offered a part in a ground-breaking new sitcom which will have an impact on British comedy for decades to come.

Gemma said: ‘It’s a heart-warming story of an ambitious woman with a dream of making people laugh – it’s going to be something special. It’s an honour to be working with such an incredible team and be reunited with my first ever director, Oliver Parker.’ 

Also joining the cast is Emily Bevans, Leo Bill and Matthew Beard, alongside previously announced Clare-Hope Ashitey, Arsher Ali and Alexa Davies. 

While Gemma, who played Strawberry Fields in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, is certainly excited about playing Barbara, last year she said of her Bond role that she would not pick a similar role for herself anymore.

The actress, from Kent, who had her big break when she was 21 with the Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, said her character didn’t have much to do in the movie.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Gemma, who has started her own production company, Rebel Park, which aims to involve women in all aspects of film making, said: ‘I know I wouldn’t choose a role like that now. Because she was funny and she was sweet, but she didn’t really have anything to do – or a backstory.’

Despite that, Gemma says she’s still grateful to Quantum’s producer Barbara Broccoli and for the doors the Bond franchise has since opened for her.

In the 2008 movie, Strawberry Fields was an intelligence operative working at the British Consulate in Bolivia, charged with sending Bond back to London.

She was the second Bond Girl in the movie after Olga Kurylenko’s Camille Montes and became a romantic interest for Bond shortly after being introduced.

Speaking of how her career has evolved since her Bond days, Gemma says she now feels more confident – and would happily challenge any uncomfortable on-set requests.

She gave the specific example of unplanned intimate scenes that may not have been in a script. She said: ‘You’re thinking: “Hang on, that’s not in the script, and you haven’t even spoken to me about that”…

‘And at that point you’re in front of all the crew and under pressure, when you should have dialogue way before that where you get asked: “Are you cool with this”,’ she went on.

She admitted she doesn’t mind if she seems ‘a bit difficult’ now that she has an established career, whereas a younger version of herself wouldn’t have wanted to ‘challenge’ it.

Gemma went on to say she didn’t experience sexism until she started working in the movie industry – adding that she’s been ‘a bit naive.’

The Sky Original comedy drama will be available on Sky Max and streaming service NOW in 2022.