Second series for later this year

E4 has ordered a second series of its acclaimed comedy-drama My Mad Fat Diary.

Star Sharon Rooney, who plays overweight 16-year-old Rae, broke the news on Twitter.

The Glaswegian part-time stand-up told her 18,000 followers: ‘Yes. It is true. We are coming back for Series 2. Thank YOU for the wonderful support for the show. I'm going to run around! Love you all X’

The show - which finishes its six-part first series tonight – is set in Lincolnshire in 1996, and is based in the real diaries of Rae Earl after she left a psychiatric hospital. It has been praised for its coverage of mental health issues, with The Guardian's Sam Wollaston calling it a ‘lovely drama – honest and painful, real, and very funny’.

Rooney herself has said: of the show: ‘There’s lots of mental health, there’s body issues, some self-harm. It was just so refreshing to be talking about these serious issues. I think it has some really funny bits and it definitely has some really heart-wrenching bits.’

The new episodes are to be made by Tiger Aspect Productions later this year.

Channel 4‘s drama commissioning editor Sophie Gardiner said: ‘My Mad Fat Diary has captured the hearts of the E4 audience, and we are delighted that the show is returning.’

Published: 18 Feb 2013