Sharon Horgan has spoken at the BBC Comedy Festival in Cardiff about her work and career in comedy and drama, following her recent success with the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters.

“The great thing about doing a drama is the realisation that comedy is still really important,” On Bad Sisters, Horgan “never thought ‘well this is a drama so I have to approach it in a different way’ – it’s the same old sh*t,” she added.

Speaking on her Irish background, Horgan continued “Making Bad Sisters in Ireland was a dream come true,” she said. “It was really important to me to do that as I’d been wanting to film there for a really long time. The landscape in the Danish original, didn’t look like Ireland, but it was something about the atmosphere made me think it would translate best in an Irish Swim. Thinking about the coldwater swimming scene, after spending some time in Dublin I realised it had to be filmed at the Forty Foot.” She went on to explain how the team thought the ‘Irish-isms’ were charming, and sayings such as ‘your man’ and ‘a ride’ stayed in as it became part of the show.

Horgan revealed she is a bigger fan of pitching to UK broadcasters than the US. “You don’t get bullsh**ted. I’ve been in U.S. [pitching] rooms where they tell you a show is happening, you leave the room, and then get told 30 minutes later that they’re not going to do it.”

The creator of Bad Sisters said things have improved in U.S. pitching post Covid-19. “Your pitch now has to be a maximum of 20 minutes so you have to be condensed,” she said. “Whether it’s IP or a new format, you just have to do it really succinctly and not prattle on.”

“I’ve always felt like you get notes [in the UK] when you need them, not for the sake of it,” she added. “There’s real trust for your original vision. Whereas in the US studio system, the studio is pre-empting what your network will say, so you have this extra barrier. It’s frustrating."

Pictures: BBC/Patrick Olner