The Catherine Tate Show

*The Catherine Tate Show*
The Catherine Tate Show
	File:Catherine tate.jpg Cover of Series One DVD
Created by	Catherine Tate and Derren Litten
Starring	Catherine Tate ; Derren Litten ; Mathew Horne ; Ella Kenion ; Jonathan McGuinnes ; Michael Brandon ; Bruce Mackinnon ; Lee Ross ; Niky Wardley
Country of origin	UK
No. of episodes	18 (as of November 23, 2006)
Production
Executive producer	Geoffrey Perkins
Running time	30 mins
Original release
Network	BBC
Release	February 16, 2004 –; present

The Catherine Tate Show is an award-winning television sketch comedy which airs on BBC Two. Comedienne Catherine Tate writes and appears in all of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters.

The first series of the show, which consisted of six episodes, aired from February to March 2004. A DVD of this series was released in August 2005 (which included the 2005 Comic Relief special). A second series aired from July to August 2005, and a 40-minute Christmas special was aired on December 20, 2005. A DVD was released in October 2006 of the second series which included the 2005 Christmas special. The third series aired from October 26, 2006 and ended on November 30. Although it has been reported that the third series would be the last, Catherine explained in a television interview that she had never said this and would like to at least do specials in the future.

The show's theme tune for the first series was In These Shoes? by Kirsty MacColl.

Series One (2004)

Main characters

Characters who appeared regularly in Series One included:

Lauren Cooper the Teenager (listed in the Series One DVD as "Fly Girl") - In the first series, Lauren was a comprehensive school student with a bad attitude. She frequently responded to unfavourable situations by asking, "Am I bovvered? Am I bovvered though?" If insulted, she would ask, "Are you disrespecting me? Are you disrespecting my family?" or "Are you calling me a pikey?" Sketches throughout the series saw Lauren arguing with authority figures such as train inspectors and teachers, as well as her friends. Lauren was one of the most popular characters with fans, and would arguably go on to be the most recognisable from the show. She shared some characteristics with Vicky Pollard from Little Britain.

Joannie "Nan" Taylor - the foul-mouthed grandmother (listed in the Series One DVD as "Old Woman") - This sketch involved an old woman who was frequently visited by her well-mannered grandson. The visits usually started off well enough, with the grandmother showing how grateful she was that her grandson had come to see her. However, things usually took a turn for the worse after she started to make unfavourable comments about her neighbours, family, or home help visitors. One episode saw the grandson take her to a pound shop.

Kate and Ellen - The office workers (listed in the Series One DVD as "How Much/How Many") - This sketch followed two office workers who sat next to each other. While one (played by Ella Kenion) was usually keen to get on with her work, she was frequently disturbed by the other, Tate. She continually made conversation about her lifestyle, inviting her co-worker to "Have a guess!" on such delicate situations as how much weight she had lost, how many miles she could run, and how much money she paid for her holiday. While the sensible worker was reluctant to go along with the game, she was pressured into making a "wild guess", which almost always resulted in Tate's character becoming insulted and offensive. Towards the end of the series, the nice worker would occasionally guess correctly. This upset Tate's character who reacted in ways such as calling her co-worker a lesbian. The name of the office is written on the set as 'Callas & Sait' which although has been suggested is perhaps a reference to the callousness versus saintliness of the characters, actually refers to the surnames of two production staff on the show. In the script book, Tate's character is named as Kate and the "nice" worker as Ellen.

Paul and Sam - the Essex couple - A happily married yet slightly simple couple, who found everyday situations surprisingly hilarious. Catherine revealed in an interview that these characters are based on people that she knows, but that they are not aware of this despite enjoying the sketch.

Bernie - the incompetent nurse - An Irish nurse who bordered on being sacked in the hospital where she works in every episode. She frequently made inappropriate remarks to her patients, flirted with most of the male staff, took a critically ill patient on a wild night out, and mixed up the records of patients who are dead and alive.

Bunty Carmichael - the over-aged majorette - A woman who insisted on being allowed to perform in a children's majorettes team, as there was no upper age limit. Her obsession with the club resulted in the owner contacting the police and obtaining a restraining order.

Elaine Figgis - the bride of a killer (listed in the Series One DVD as "Death Row Wife") - A woman who appeared in a documentary, following her engagement and eventual marriage to a convicted killer on Death Row in the US.

Margaret - the jumpy woman (listed in the Series One DVD as "Frightened Woman") - A woman who screamed with terror at quiet, everyday noises. Catherine later revealed that she based this character on her mother.

The enigmatic cop - A detective who came up with bizarre theories at crime scenes, to the surprise and frustration of her assistant, Whittaker.

Minor characters

The help desk worker - A woman who worked at a help desk in a shopping centre. When shoppers asked for her assistance, she would misunderstand them or mistakenly believe that they were trying to engage in friendly conversation with her.

Karen and Ben - the new parents - A couple who would do anything to stop their newborn baby from waking up, including refusing to leave their car to attend a birthday dinner. They frequently argued, but switched to happy singing if their child started to cry.

The airhead - An American woman who started every sentence with the words "and I'm like..."

The Aga Saga Woman - A middle class English woman who went into a state of shock in various, seemingly harmless, situations. For example she received a phone call from her husband's business associate and had to tell her children that "daddy hasn't been able to find any good brie" on his business trip to France, thereby jeopardising the school fete. She also panicked at the thought of having to use a dishwasher or go shopping herself; instead she called on her housekeeper. The title of the sketch is a pun on the stereotype of the pretentious middle classes having an Aga oven at home. The Aga Saga Woman is named as "Mrs Montgomery" in Series Two but in Series Three this is retconned to "Mrs Taylor - Thomas"

The Drunk Estate Agent - An estate agent who made only one appearance. She arrived at a property drunk and offended both the owner and prospective buyers, accusing one man of being homosexual ("You know what they say about a man who likes a bit of chrome in his kitchen, he likes a bit of cock up his arse") before she passed out.

The backhander woman - An at-first peaceful looking woman who suddenly switched voice tone and personality when she advised complete strangers to violently attack people who were irritating or confusing them and give them "one swift backhander" to teach them a lesson. She then would switch back to complete politeness.

Sandra Grahame - the last hit woman - A businesswoman who started a game of 'last hit' at the office. When a colleague was involved in a car accident as a result of the game, she was more interested in whether she has won or not.

Jill - the tragic clown - A trainee clown who constantly interrupted her classes in circus skills to talk about a horrific car accident she claimed to have been involved in. She painted a child's face to look like a crash victim, and complained that different sounds reminded her of glass shattering and brakes squealing. Her sketches were interspersed with those of the "last hit" woman throughout the course of one episode, suggesting that she may have been the driver who ran over Sandra's coworker.

Comic Relief 2005

Tate made an appearance during the BBC's Comic Relief telethon in March 2005, in the guise of Lauren the Teenager. In a section of the show which saw fans of McFly asking questions to the group, Lauren decided to ask, "Why are you so rubbish?" When told by Simon Amstell, who was hosting the segment, that only positive questions were allowed, Lauren used a variety of her catch phrases, including "Am I bothered?" and "Are you calling me stupid?"

Lauren was then "ordered" to ask a more positive question to the group, and confused them with Busted, asking "Are you gutted that Charlie left?"

When told to leave the set, on her way she asked Danny from McFly to sign her knee, walking away promptly saying "You can't even spell."

Best Of (2005)

In the months preceding the launch of the second series, BBC Two aired three 'Best Of' episodes, featuring a variety of the funniest clips from the six episodes of Series One, including Lauren the teenager and the foul-mouthed grandmother. Meanwhile, repeats of all six episodes of the first series aired on UKTV G2.

Series Two (2005)

The second series began airing in July 2005. Following Tate's Comic Relief appearance, and news of her non-existent feud with David Schwimmer, it received slightly more publicity than Series One in the run-up to the first episode. BBC Two also promoted the series by running trailers showing Lauren arguing with a furry dog in the shape of the channel's logo.

This series was far more successful than the first, partly due to a successful lead-in from Ricky Gervais' newest sitcom, Extras. The first episode attracted 3.39 million viewers, but the final episode received higher ratings than the episode of Extras which aired beforehand.

A number of celebrities agreed to make appearances for series two, including Peter Kay, Jill Halfpenny, Una Stubbs, Brian Murphy, Paul Whitehouse and Michael Brandon.

For the second series, the opening sequence was completely revamped, and a new theme tune introduced. The series was released on DVD on October 30th in the UK.

Main characters

Lauren - who became more offensive than ever before. One notable change was that Lauren began to become insulting without being provoked, while in the past, her catchphrase of "Am I bothered?" was only used after she believed that she had been wronged in some way. She was now in Year 11 and, according to one of her teachers, in grave danger of leaving school with no GCSEs.

Nan Taylor - who spent less time in her living room. She made a disastrous visit to the doctor, and spent two weeks in hospital. True to form, she did not suffer in silence, complaining about her fellow patients and accusing a nurse of stealing from her. In one sketch Peter Kay guest starred as one of Nan's friends; he referred to homosexuality as a disability, which the grandson didn't take too kindly to.

Paul and Sam - who showed little change from series one. In episode five, we were introduced to Sam's parents, who share many of the same characteristics as their daughter. Paul Whitehouse guest starred as her father and My Hero's Geraldine McNulty guest starred as her mum.

Kate and Ellen - The office workers - in this series, the nice office worker is more aware of material that the loud worker will use for her "Have a guess!" games, and often knows the correct answer before being asked. Unfortunately, this irritates Tate's character even more than usual, and during the course of this series she pours a drink over her fellow worker's head, trashes her desk and spits in her hair.

Derek Faye - A man who shows several signs of being gay (combining mannerisms of famous gay British comedians such as Kenneth Williams and Frankie Howerd), but seems to be in denial about his sexuality and becomes extremely offended when people assume he is gay. As well as behaving in an extremely effeminate way, he talks with a feminine voice. His catchphrase is "How very dare you!", and also the overuse of the word "dear". This can be seen in another catchphrase; when asked about his sexuality he replies "Who, dear? Me, dear? Gay, dear? No, dear." He is sometimes seen with a male companion called Leonard Mincing.

Allie - an extremely tactless woman, who unintentionally offends people after being introduced to them at parties. Afterwards, she becomes embarrassed and tries to look for an escape from the conversation as quickly as possible. In an interview, Tate said that this character was partly based on herself.

Janice and Ray - a Northern couple who express their disgust at meals they have had in restaurants. Their disgust being based on the perceived over-pricing or the exotic nature of the food eg Brie and grapes in a cheese sandwich. After complaining about the food and prices, they use their catchphrase: "The dirty bastards!" (sometimes "The evil dirty robbing bastards!")

Sheila Carter - An uptight, snobbish Scottish woman who disapproves of the behaviour of everybody around her, before farting loudly and unashamedly.

Amanda - a perky waitress at the fictional BBJ's restaurant: "I'm Amanda, but my friends call me Zebedee!" After annoying diners with her loud and childish behaviour, she breaks into dance routines with her fellow workers after she takes each order. This causes the diners to run off.

Irene and Vern - the stereotypically Jewish owners of a mobile snack bar. In their sketches they are visited by a regular customer, Neville (played by Brian Murphy) whom Irene tries to convince that she and Vern have been visited by celebrities, including Madonna and former Russian premier Gorbachev.

Trudy and Ivan - the owners of an extremely successful wig emporium. When they invite a production crew into their workplace to make a documentary about them, they struggle to keep the names of their clients a secret: "If that jiffy bag doesn't get to Wembley Arena by 8pm, it'll be the first time "Candle In The Wind" has been sung in a crash helmet."

The unprofessional croupier - who takes the ball away from the roulette wheel when the noise starts to annoy her: "It was probably red". In another sketch, a man bets a lot of money on red, and she announces the ball landed on red. However, she then says it is black - as the colours "sort of merge" while the wheel is spinning.

Minor characters

Bernie - who made only two appearances in this series. In one episode, she was nearly sacked after being hypnotised, while in her next appearance she returned to her usual man-eating ways.

Elaine Figgis - Elaine appeared for one episode, and was still using the Internet to find potential lovers. Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, Mohammad, ended up conning her and taking her savings.

The Aga Saga Woman - who went into a state of shock and terror after a Northern nanny showed up to look after her children. Jill Halfpenny guest starred as the Northern nanny.

Moo Shepherd - a dog trainer who resorts to strange and desperate methods to achieve success. Unfortunately, her dog Lady Penelope ends up coming last at an important contest.

DI Angie Barker - a single mother who brings her children with her to an unpleasant crime scene.

Victoria Russell - a drunk bride who insults her new husband and his family in a memorable wedding speech. She appears several times in one episode.

Sandra - a woman living in a world where "gingers" are ostracised from society, who is sent to "Russet Lodge" (a refuge for redheads) under police protection. She appears several times in one episode, and her appearance precedes the "Gingers For Justice" sketches in series 3.

After Series Two

In November 2005, Tate appeared as Lauren in a special sketch for the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon. The segment was a crossover with EastEnders, featuring Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell), Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo) and Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater).

The sketch saw Lauren arrive in Walford in search of revenge on Stacey, who had stolen her boyfriend. When she made an appearance in the Queen Vic, Peggy found herself getting increasingly frustrated with the visitor, who asked, "Are you a Cockney? Are you a Cockney sparrow?" ('Cockney' was pronounced 'Cockeney') and "Do you know Chas and Dave? Are you their mum?" repeatedly. Peggy also used some of Lauren's catchphrases without realising, such as "Are you disrespecting my family?" and "Are you calling me a pikey?" Lauren eventually left the pub after mixing some famous lines from the soap, including "Hello princess" and "Rickaay!" with her usual catchphrase, "Bothered?"

Also in November, Tate was a guest at the 77th Royal Variety Performance and once again appeared in the guise of Lauren. Looking up at the Royal Box, she mimicked the Queen's accent and asked, "Is one bothered? Is one's face bothered?", adding, "Who is looking after the corgis?" The Queen was seen laughing (at least politely) at this joke, and Prince Phillip also appeared to take this in good humour. There were, however, reports in The Sun Newspaper that the Prince was extremely unimpressed by the performance.

A Christmas show was aired on 20 December 2005. It featured appearances from celebrity guests Richard Park, Charlotte Church and Chas and Dave. In this show we met Paul and Sam's two children, who have identical characteristics to, and look like, their parents. According to official overnights figures, over 5.3 million viewers watched the show, making it the most-watched programme at the time. The characters of Margaret and the enigmatic detective, who did not appear in Series 2, made reappearances for the Christmas show.

The second series started airing on UKTV G2 in January 2006. Series one still airs on UKTV Gold. The second series is also being screened on BBC America, and repeated on BBC2, from June 2006.

Following the success of Series Two, Tate will be launching a range of merchandise based on characters from the show in 2006.

In the BBC's Sport Relief she did a sketch as Nan Taylor, commenting on the 1966 world cup win and the comments of Kenneth Wolstenholme.

Series Three (2006)

The third series started on 26 October 2006. Prior to the launch of the series, it had been reported that BBC One controller Peter Fincham hoped to lure Tate to the channel; however, she decided to stay with BBC Two, where she will not be as pressured to secure high ratings.

New Main Characters

New characters who were introduced in series three included:

Helen Marsh - the "I can do that" woman - A woman who claimed "I can do that!" when her friends and colleagues were in search of people with specific skills. For instance, in one episode, her colleague needed someone to practice tennis with, and Helen happily accepted to assist her. However, she was abysmal at tennis and hit the balls way out of the court into a group of trees. In another sketch, she claimed she could speak seven languages for a conference, and then started babbling fake words that she based on stereotypes.

Ulster Mum - A Northern Irish woman who was delighted that her youngest son, John, had come out as gay. Even though he didn't want any attention or mistreatment, his mum obsessed over his sexuality, inviting him to give her fashion advice, visit one of her friends, and go on a gay parade.

Geordie Georgie - A frequent petitioner, who constantly tried to get her co-worker, Martin, to sponsor her with facts such as "Every 38 minutes ..." then followed her statements up with "If you don't believe me then log on to the website ...". Catherine stated on This Morning that Georgie was her favourite new character. The scenes for this sketch followed the same pattern. Georgie would come into the office and start singing (with Martin joining in) and, after talking abusively about his family, would request to borrow something on his desk. She then described her latest fundraising effort and asked him to sponsor her. He always offered a modest donation then makes at least one small increase, but after several futile attempts to get him to donate yet more money, she said "Let's say no more about it because I wouldn't want it to come between us." then attacked him in a manner that has something to do with the cause she was championing (for example, she sprayed him all over with cleaning fluid after he refused to pay out as much as she'd like for sufferers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). She also tried to raise money for victims of sexual harassment, domestic violence, alcoholism and sex addiction as well as for dwarves, but claimed she "Couldn't be less interested" when Martin asked her to donate to a fundraiser of his own.

Life at Ma's - A parody of Life on Mars which featured Tate as Ma Willow, overbearing owner of the boarding house "Ma's" during the 1950s, who took in time - travelling policeman, Sam Speed, after he was hit by a car. Unfortunately, he often broke the conventions of that time period (such as being a non-smoking, politically-correct vegetarian).

Laura Powers - A bungling spy who was called in to assist the American government with a top secret mission involving terrorists (in a direct parody of thriller series 24), but was so inept at trying to use a computer keyboard that she caused a communications failure which blew the entire exercise (literally, as the terrorists blew up their hostages)

Snack Food Woman - A woman who, while out and about with different people, frequently excused herself to go and buy a bag of snacks (such as Nik Naks, Monster Munch or Mini Cheddars) only to return and find that some horrible disaster happened while she was away (eg. her boyfriend was killed in a building collapse or friend was attacked by sharks)

Recurring Characters

Lauren - who spent the summer holidays working at Billy's Burger Bar. She has a new rival for Ryan's affections, played by EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy, and believes that Ryan wants to marry her. As a sixth-former her attitude at school is the same as before, although she has succeeded in learning the chemical symbols of many of the chemical elements (in that sketch she said "Am I Bovvered" in an imitation of Stephen Hawking's voice). She refuses to speak French for an oral exam but knows enough of the language to insult her French Teacher (even making a few references to 'Allo 'Allo!, specifically to the character of Officer Crabtree). Lauren was due to marry Ryan in the final episode, but was jilted at the altar because he was embarrassed when she sang a very off - key version of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On to the guests.

Joannie "Nan" Taylor - in this series Leslie Phillips played another of Nan's friends, who is himself very much like her (saying "What a fucking liberty" when Nan visits him in hospital and leaves him a present he does not like) and Sheila Hancock appeared as her sister June, who lives in Spain and is equally as foul mouthed as Nan. We find out that most of their family were London gangland career criminals and mass murderers, with nicknames such as "Clown Face" and "Wallopnuts". Nan also made a characteristic appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show.

The Aga Saga Woman - who sent everyone at her children's school sports day into a panic when she found out the eggs being used in the egg and spoon race were not organic, and became terrified at the prospect of having to use a hired car while her Land Rover was being repaired. She and her children are disturbed when they take a wrong turn and end up driving in Tottenham (pronounced by them as "totten-ham"), becoming traumatised when someone cleans their windscreen at a traffic light, and run away from a picnic after one of the children had accidentally eaten a yoghurt that was past its sell by date.

Derek Faye - Derek is still battling with the problem of everyone he meets assuming he is gay. He became particularly offended when, while on holiday in Spain with his male companion Leonard, a taxi driver offered to take them to a Hawaiian-themed gay bar called "Homolulu". Bonnie Langford appeared in one of his sketches.

Irene and Vern - show little change from Series Two, and have tried to convince their regular customer that they had met ABBA, Condoleezza Rice and even Henry VIII of England (who, according to Irene, did not die over 400 years ago but is living in Hemel Hempstead). Vern, who normally has no lines, was given a speaking part for the first time (simply telling Irene to "Shut up")

Janice and Ray - who continue to complain about restaurant food and prices. Ray is no longer played by Derren Litten (who did not work on this series) but continues to use the same phrases: "Famous last words", "Listen to this". Their catchphrase is now slightly modified to fit the situation, eg. "The evil, dirty, raw - fish - guzzling bastards!" when complaining about being offered sushi, or "The dirty, robbing, lactose intolerant bastards!" after telling the story of being served coffee with milk substitute.

Bernie - four of whose siblings (Brenda, Bridie, Seamus and Paddy), all identical to Bernie and even more over the top in their behaviour, caused havoc when they came over from Ireland to visit her during her shift at the hospital. It is discovered that Bernie shuns medical terms for intimate bodily parts because she confuses them with the names of another sister and brother, Virginia (vagina) and Clint.

Elaine Figgis - who has given up on finding love online. Instead she attempted to have a baby with the aid of a sperm donor, but unfortunately her missed periods turned out to be the start of the menopause.

Gingers For Justice - who return with Sandra taking a stand against the public and the public decide that gingers are allowed back in to civilisation, with guest star Patsy Palmer

Paul and Sam - made two appearances in the last episode, still very excitable over the slightest thing. They did not seem concerned when the living room ceiling collapsed, more preoccupied with the fact that Sam had found a missing earring.

Other guest stars include Jools Holland and Paul O'Grady.

References

External links