8.6 /10 1 Votes
Genre Comedy-drama Theme music composer The Charlatans Final episode date 6 July 2015 | 8.5/10 Written by Tom BidwellGeorge Kay First episode date 14 January 2013 Network E4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Sharon RooneyClaire RushbrookIan HartNico MirallegroJodie ComerDan CohenJordan MurphyCiara Baxendale Cast Profiles |
Fixing a big problem my mad fat diary
My Mad Fat Diary is a BAFTA-nominated British comedy-drama television series that debuted on E4 on 14 January 2013. It is based on My Fat, Mad Teenage Diary written by Rae Earl.
Contents
- Fixing a big problem my mad fat diary
- My mad fat diary
- Plot
- Main cast
- Recurring cast
- Critical reception
- Ratings
- American remake
- References

The second series started on 17 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.

After three series and sixteen episodes, My Mad Fat Diary broadcast its final episode on 6 July 2015.
My mad fat diary
Plot

Set in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the mid-1990s, My Mad Fat Diary follows the story of 16-year-old, 16 stone (105 kg) girl, Rae Earl, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has spent four months. She begins to reconnect with her best friend, Chloe, who is unaware of Rae's mental health and body image problems, believing she was in France for the past four months. Rae attempts to keep this information from her while also trying to impress Chloe's friends Finn, Archie, Izzy and Chop.
Main cast

Recurring cast

Critical reception

Throughout its run, My Mad Fat Diary received critical acclaim, 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 – honest and painful, real, and very funny," going on to say "Sharon Rooney's performance in the lead is natural, effortless and utterly believable; she should win something for it." The Stage called it "a comedy drama that actually satisfies the criteria of both genres, My Mad Fat Diary offers a unique and uncompromising perspective on adolescent angst that distresses and delights by turns. Visual gimmicks – flashbacks, fantasies and animated squiggles leaping from the page – are used sparingly but effectively, allowing the focus to stay fixed on Rae and Rooney’s commanding and engagingly natural central performance." The Art Desk said "the first episode of this six-part comedy drama is touching, hilarious and perfectly cast." Claire Webb of the Radio Times said the plot is "as uplifting as it is moving, although the banter and gimmicks won't be to everybody's taste."
The show also received praise for its honest portrayal of mental health. Brian Semple of The Independent calls the show "surprisingly honest, funny and even moving account of what it’s like for a teenage girl to live with serious mental health problems, free of many of the clichés that often inform how mental illness is portrayed on TV," going on to say that Rae "has a mental illness, but it doesn’t define her. It’s just something that she has to deal with and try to manage on a daily basis, just like the one in ten young people in the UK who have a mental illness." Semple refers to My Mad Fat Diary as a "breath of fresh air and will do a lot to change the way young people think about mental health."
In a more mixed review, Robert Epstein of The Independent criticised E4 for relating the programme to its other teen shows: "If such comparisons are unfair, blame it on E4, whose continuity announcer declared: 'If you like Skins, The Inbetweeners and Misfits, you'll like this.' Well, sorry, I do like those three shows, but, even with a great soundtrack (if only the Mack really would return …) and the odd nice line, My Mad Fat Diary is a long way from the equal of that trio in invention, edge or humour."
My Mad Fat Diary star Sharon Rooney was chosen as one of the first group of BAFTA "Breakthrough Brits" in 2013.
Ratings
The first episode of the third and final series attracted 548,000 viewers on E4, whilst the second episode attracted 537,000 viewers. The final episode of the series attracted 450,000 viewers. All viewing figures exclude those who watched on All 4 and on E4+1.
American remake
Tom Bidwell, the writer of the show, mentioned in April 2014 in an interview with the Chorley Guardian that MTV has commissioned him to work on an American remake of the show.