A LOCAL actor returned to her hometown this afternoon to film the new series of a BBC comedy-drama which she wrote loosely based on her own life.

Sophie Willan, from Bolton, is the main star in Alma's Not Normal, which premiered for its pilot episode last year - and has since been commissioned for a full series.

Willan remained tight-lipped about the show while filming on Le Mans Crescent, but said: "It's been fabulous being back in Bolton and it's lovely to be home."

Willan created the series after winning the BBC’s Caroline Aherne Bursary Award in 2018, and she reportedly already had the idea for the Boltonian wild-child character.

The comedy depicts the story of an eccentric and quirky character, Alma Nuthall, who is trying to get over a recent break-up and face the fact she needs to get her life together.

Despite having no qualifications, she is determined to make a better life for herself and her mum Lin,played by Siobhan Finneran, who is battling a drug addiction.

In the half-hour pilot episode viewers saw Alma considering becoming an escort in order to provide for her family.

The episode went down a hit with fans, with the BBC reporting more than a million viewers tuned in to watch.

On a 14-hour-day of filming, it is understood that the cast and crew are next heading to The Moors to shoot another scene.