Phoebe Waller-Bridge has revealed how one of Jennifer Lopez’s hit songs influenced Fleabag.
The show’s winning streak continued on Sunday night, picking up two more prizes for its acclaimed second series at the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Fleabag, already a Bafta, Emmy and Golden Globe winner, was named Best Comedy Series while Phoebe won Best Actress In A Comedy.
Taking to the stage to accept the show’s prize, the 34-year-old actress thanked J-Lo for inspiring a portion of Fleabag.
“This is a bit of a random shout-out,” she said. “But you have no idea how you can accidentally inspire people just by doing your work and somebody inspired this show in a way that you’ll never know – and that’s J-Lo!”
Phoebe told the star-studded audience, which included J-Lo, she decided the Priest’s favourite song was Jenny From The Block.
She said the choice of song “opened the entire character up for me”.
“So, I don’t know where she is, but that’s really genuine, so thank you, thank you J-Lo,” Phoebe added.
During the same acceptance speech, the actress and writer also thanked her sister and Fleabag composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, saying her music “covered and elevated” the “slightly mediocre bits” of the show.
Phoebe also revealed her sister inserted an Easter egg of sorts for Latin speakers, with “completely filthy” words used in some of the songs.
“So thank you for keeping the DNA of the show right in even to the classiest music possible,” she added.
Other big winners at this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards included Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, which was named Best Picture.
The Best Director prize was shared between Parasite’s Bong Joon Ho and 1917’s Sir Sam Mendes after Broadcast Film Critics Association voters could not split them.
Andrew Scott, who plays the Priest in Fleabag, won Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series.
Critics’ Choice Winners List:
Best actor – Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Best supporting actress – Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Best supporting actress in a comedy series – Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)
Best supporting actor in a comedy series – Andrew Scott (Fleabag)
Best action movie – Avengers: Endgame
Foreign language film – Parasite
Best supporting actress in a drama series – Jean Smart (Watchmen)
Best supporting actor in a drama series – Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Best movie made for television – El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Best animated feature – Toy Story 4
Best actor in a drama series – Jeremy Strong (Succession)
Best actress in a drama series – Regina King (Watchmen)
Best limited series – When They See Us
Best comedy film – Dolemite Is My Name
Best actress in a comedy series – Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)
Best actor in a comedy series – Bill Hader (Barry)
Best acting ensemble – The Irishman
Best screenplay – Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)
Best supporting actor in a limited series or movie made for television – Stellan Skarsgard (Chernobyl)
Best supporting actress in a limited series or movie made for television – Toni Collette (Unbelievable)
Best actress in a limited series or movie made for television – Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon)
Best actor in a limited series or movie made for television – Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us)
Best supporting actor – Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood)
Best young actor/actress – Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)
Best comedy series – Fleabag
Best drama series – Succession
Best actress – Renee Zellweger (Judy)
Best director – Sam Mendes (1917) and Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)