Phoebe Waller-Bridge brings Fleabag back for charity amid coronavirus pandemic

Phoebe Waller-Bridge has revealed she never expected to be bringing her much-loved Fleabag character back for charity.

The 34-year-old actress appeared on This Morning via video link to chat about putting her one-woman West End show online in a bid to raise money for the NHS amid the coronavirus pandemic, as well as donating funds to the hard-hit theatre community.

The star joked: ‘I honestly thought Fleabag was done. I thought I’d put her to sleep, but somehow she’s snuck her way back in.’ 

Phoebe said she had been astounded by people’s generosity as she raises funds in these troubled times.

She said: ‘So, this is to do with Fleabag the PLAY and this is a performance that I did last year.

‘It’s a one woman show and I’m putting it online for coronavirus and the NHS. Some money raised goes back into the theatre community.

‘It’s a minimum of £4 but you can actually donate as much as you want. Some people have been really generous.’

The award-winning star – who has received a BAFTA, three Emmys and two Golden Globes for her role – discussed how badly the UK’s thespian community had been hit. 

Citing the instant loss of work for theatre performers, she said: ‘It was incredible.

‘I was talking to a couple of friends on the day that the West End shows shut down. They suddenly lost all of their income and prospectives.

‘It’s a precarious lifestyle for most of us in theatre anyway. So this is a scary moment.

‘It’s incredible to have something like this in our back pockets.’

Hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes also quizzed the TV personality about the popular BBC Three adaptation of her play.  

Phoebe admitted there were three years between the first and second season of Fleabag because she is ‘reluctant’ when it comes to writing the character.

‘I’m a very reluctant writer when it comes to Fleabag because I keep thinking I could mess it up’, the star said.

‘It took me a year to write season two. I always feel an enormous amount of pressure with that [Fleabag].’ 

Elsewhere during the chat, the RADA alumni was quizzed about why she was asked to help work on the script for the new James Bond film, No Time To Die.

The release date for the 007 film, thought to be Daniel Craig’s last, has been pushed back to 12 November amid the global pandemic – and Phoebe is still remaining tight-lipped about the details.

She modestly said: ‘I don’t know [why I was asked]. I sort of just became part of the writing gang really.

‘It was such a big gang effort. It’s really hard question. I like to hope that I brought some fun to the characters, and… 

‘I’m really not allowed to say anything about Bond – ever!’ 

Fleabag fans will be able to stream the one-woman performance on Soho Theatre’s On Demand from April 6 in the UK and Ireland for the price of £4. 

Following its launch, Fleagbag will then be available in American on Amazon Prime Video as well as Canada and New Zealand from April 10. 

The proceeds from the stream will be distributed between coronavirus charities including The National Emergencies Trust, NHS Charities Together and Acting For Others, as well as the newly-launched Fleabag Support Fund.  

Phoebe enjoyed a 30-day run of her show which received a host of five-star reviews, which have hailed Phoebe for winning TV and theatre audiences alike.