Brett Gelman

10 things we learned from Fleabag: The Scriptures

The newly published screenplays for Phoebe Waller-Bridge's hit BBC series reveal new information about the making of Fleabag.

Saddest bit of Fleabag's finale? Having to say goodbye

Goodbye to darling Fleabag, who wiped her tears dry before leaving us last night with a smile and a final wave.

Fleabag finale is an absolute masterpiece

Fleabag graciously bowed out of our lives today with the final installment of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's insanely perfect second series.

How Fleabag's second series has surpassed its first

The first series of Fleabag was a sharply written comedy with an undercurrent of sadness, coming to a head in its final episode with an unexpected gut punch. This time around, Phoebe Waller-Bridge has managed to maintain the smart, acerbic humour of series 1 while injecting more emotional moments throughout - some of them so powerful they make you want to go back and rewatch episodes as soon as you've finished them.

What makes the BBC's cult comedy Fleabag so watchable

Fleabag divides opinion like few other television dramas. Can we even decide if it is a tragedy or a comedy? Like life itself, perhaps the BBC show is a double helping of both, with a dollop of proper sauce on top.

Review: Fleabag, series 2, episode 2

After last week's slam dunk of an opening episode the second instalment of the second series slips into more conventional comedy territory with Fleabag's main concern being the fact that she has the hots for a hot priest, played by Andrew Scott.

Why do I get the feeling that Phoebe Waller-Bridge likes trouble? The second series of Fleabag, again written by and starring her, arrived "371 days, 19 hours and 26 minutes later", in a flurry of sex (Fleabag flirting with new character, "cool, smoking priest", played by Andrew Scott), violence (a punch-up between Fleabag and her loathsome, lying brother-in-law, Martin, played by Brett Gelman), and miscarriage - suffered secretly in a restaurant toilet cubicle by Fleabag's sister, Claire (Sian Clifford).

In the end it was almost as much of a bloodbath as the other show Waller-Bridge writes, Killing Eve. Before it all kicked off, our favourite selfish, rude, inappropriate, fag-smoking malcontent (the Dorothy Parker of the Fomo generation?) had, relatively speaking, been behaving herself at the engagement meal of her inadequate father (Bill Paterson) and snaky godmother (Olivia Colman, on fine, forked-tongue form). The show's appeal lies in Waller-Bridge's gift for jumping between casual interaction ("Claire, you've been ages. Are you pissed off, or are you doing a poo?"), to fang-deep venom (Martin to Fleabag: "I'm so intrigued to see how you're going to make this whole evening about yourself"), to surreal pathos ("Get your hands off my miscarriage!"). While I felt the first series flagged slightly towards the end, this was a dark, stylish return - the telly staple of a tense family celebration, but with sudden twists and writing so sharp it could scratch your eyes out.

Review: Fleabag, Series Two, BBC Three/BBC One

So follow that. After the seismic success of the first series of Fleabag the action picks up 371 days and some hours later, with the family gathered for an important celebratory dinner. But this is Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, it's never going to be an uneventful meal is it, as an early scene in which a bloody nose is wiped makes abundantly clear.