Phoebe Waller-Bridge was "shocked" when she re-read her original ‘Fleabag’ script.
The 34-year-old star – whose live stage show was adapted into a hit BBC Three comedy – admitted she even left herself stunned when she revisited her script years after first taking the project to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In an interview with ‘The Graham Norton Show’ – which will be aired tonight (24.04.20) – she said: "I was in my mid 20s when I did it originally and everyone involved was full of attitude, and totally unapologetic about what we wanted to say and do with the work.
"When I re-mounted it in New York in my early 30s I remember in the first rehearsal opening the script – which is quite a lot edgier that the TV show – and genuinely being quite shocked and a bit embarrassed.
"I really didn’t think I could say some of the lines. But once I got back into the character it was a lot easier."
Earlier this month, Phoebe revealed her theatre production – recorded at Wynham’s Theatre and originally broadcast in cinemas in September last year – will be coming to Soho Theatre On Demand and Amazon Prime Video to raise money for UK charities helping during the coronavirus pandemic.
The project – which launched in partnership with National Theatre Live – has been unveiled for a good cause, and the writer joked it was the "only bit" of the series she hadn’t "rinsed dry".
She added: "Last year’s stage show recording is the only bit of ‘Fleabag’ that I haven’t completely rinsed dry out in the world! So why not do it for a good cause."
Phoebe Waller-Bridge shocked herself with early Fleabag scripts
