Back then, Ullman was an import from the UK and starring in The Tracey Ullman Show, a combo variety/sketch series which, among other things, launched The Simpsons in a series of animated vignettes.

She followed that with a pure sketch comedy series, Tracey Takes On, which was one of HBO’s first comedy series commissions. That show introduced several iconic characters, including Hollywood makeup artist Ruby Romaine and Florida retiree (and widow) Fern Rosenthal. There are shades of both women in Irma.

“She became something really different in a way, Irma, because she doesn’t have that neurosis or vanity, and she is well-read,” Ullman says. “I like that she’s really educated and into books and plays and wants to go and see things in the theatre, whereas Fern would never want to do that.”

Tracey Takes On could not be produced now, nor can the original episodes be repeated. They contain sketches in which Ullman performed as an African American airport security officer, an elderly Asian donut shop owner, a gay white male airline steward and a male Arab cab driver.

At the same time, the series sits almost uniquely in modern cultural history. It was a career launchpad for a number of high-profile artists, including actor/director Jon Favreau, director and Aaron Sorkin collaborator Tommy Schlamme and actor Tobey Maguire. Its guest stars included Billy Connolly, Julie Kavner, Penny Marshall and Olivia Newton-John. And it was crowned with six Emmy awards from an astonishing 24 nominations.

“I was experimenting and allowed to do it,” Ullman says of the series. “I think we’ve really clamped down in a way now and there’s a lot of stuff that people are trying to discuss and break through and there’s not been a lot of concession to historical nuance of the times, or we are just supposed to just be awash with shame now.

“Things change, you’ve got to move on but you’ve got to keep being brave and you’ve got to keep being honest and you’ve got to keep being kind and energetic,” Ullman adds. “It’s like listening to [comedian Dave] Chappelle and Chris Rock question things and talk about stuff.”

In 2016, she returned to sketch comedy with Tracey Ullman’s Show, from which sprang enduring (and hilarious) spins on British acting legend Dame Judi Dench and former German chancellor Angela Merkel. The series lasted just three seasons, but her Dench and Merkel takes will be replayed on YouTube forever.

“I’d never done impersonations, really,” Ullman says. “I can look at things on the internet, I can get their voice immediately but it’s still a process because I don’t just put a wig on and a bit of makeup and think I’m them. I try and give them another life.”

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When actors talk about roles, those observations tend to be framed around interactions with directors and writers. In Ullman’s career, where it has strayed into sketch comedy and prosthetic character work, the key collaborations have been with hairstylists and makeup artists.

“They’re really important and they’re always surprised at how awful I want to look,” Ullman says, laughing. “I don’t even have any conception of how I look as me, I just like to disguise myself … I’ve done so many weird makeups and total immersion of things, so nothing scares me. I’ve never wanted to look glamorous.”

Creating a character from scratch is harder, Ullman says. “With Irma, I had to have that toughness and that huskiness that I could steal from Fern because I knew it would scare Larry. I knew he’d like that because he’d seen me be Betty Friedan, and he wanted that ball-busting female ego that is there.”

Her secret weapon? Teeth, she says. “I usually start with teeth, I’ve got a big box of teeth here, and I’ve got my wigs, I’ve got all these wigs in the other room. Where the voice comes from ... I realised that’s so important to me now. I’ll be just doing my lines and I think, where is the voice? It’s a shortcut to how I find things.”

Curb Your Enthusiasm (new season) premieres on Binge on Monday, February 5.

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