3. Fan Friction

It’s hard navigating the loss of a parent, but when your mum was a famous comedian whose parasocial relationship with her fans blurred the boundaries between personal and private, things can get truly wierrrd.

Ashley finds her grief – and outfit choice - under scrutiny, as she wins a clutch of coveted awards, just week after her mum dies. As an autistic woman who finds being all emotional “gross” and prefers to be be funny rather than talk about how she really feels, she finds herself being glib when answering journalists demented questions, and bemused as an old Ozzie comedian calls to say he’s being haunted by the ghost of her dead mum. Apparently, she really wants Ashley to read his script. Cool.

She’s kept busy dodging her feelings (and the demands of bereaved fans), pondering whether she can one-up the ‘dead mum’ fringe show with merch, and fantasy and reality collide as she finds herself face-to-face with the real-life hunks that inspired some of her wildly popular, but very spicy fictional works…

Produced by Julia Sutherland
Sound Design by Sean Kerwin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4