Why I love… Michaela Coel

‘Michaela Coel’s presence on British telly is thrilling.’ Photograph: John Phillips

Why I love… Michaela Coel

Coel is fearless. No joke is too risque, no comedic situation too outrageous to explore in pursuit of the funny

Bim Adewunmi
Sat 7 May 2016 06.00 BST

G

enerally speaking, I love being surprised. It’s an increasingly hard thing to do, because the world is so predictable and my cynicism is a hard shell to breach. But sometimes along comes a breath of fresh air that cracks it just a little, before coaxing it wide open.

The most recent fragrant breeze? Her name is Michaela Coel, 28, a one-woman powerhouse. I first saw her in the raucous, incredibly filthy and funny award-winning E4 sitcom she created and starred in, Chewing Gum. But that’s just her highest-profile gig. Her talent is multi-pronged: she’s a Royal Television Society award-winning actor, talented spoken-word artist and a playwright (Chewing Gum’s first life was as a one-woman stage show called Chewing Gum Dreams). Last month she won a Bafta, crowning her as TV’s breakthrough star.

Coel is fearless. No joke is too risque, no comedic situation too outrageous to explore in pursuit of the funny. She has this great face – big eyes, wide smile – that she can make into whatever shape she wants, and leaves the audience leaning in to hear what she’s saying. It was especially delightful to watch her call out (and then forgive) a previous detractor on Twitter when he congratulated her on her Bafta win, thereby gracefully winning the internet. Her very presence on British telly, in a landscape that doesn’t normally allow dark-skinned black girls to shine so brightly, is thrilling. 

Next she will star in Charlie Brooker’s new Black Mirror, and is writing series two of Chewing Gum. She’s thriving. That’s the best, most welcome surprise.

THE GUARDIAN