THE CATHERINE TATE SHOW

'''The Catherine Tate Show''' is an award-winning British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate who stars in all of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. ''The Catherine Tate Show'' airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC. Collectively, the show has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards, two British Comedy Awards and an Emmy Award, and it has won two Royal Television Society Awards and two British Comedy Awards since its debut in 2004.

Contents

History

Main characters

Catchphrases

Characters in each series

Series one (2004)

After series one

Series two (2005)

After series two

Series three (2006)

After series three

Charity sketches

Awards

Won

Nominated

Guest stars

Series two

Series three

Charity sketches

DVD releases

See also

References

External links

History

The first series of the show, which consisted of six episodes, aired from February 16 to March 22, 2004. A DVD of this series was released in August, 2005.
A second series aired from July 21 to August 25 2005, and a 40-minute Christmas special was aired on December 20, 2005. For this series a new theme tune was introduced. A DVD of series two was released in October 2006.
The third series aired from October 14 to November 25, 2006. There has been speculation that this would be the final series. However, Tate explained in an interview on ''This Morning'' that she had never said this and would like to at least do specials in the future.
Although a fourth series is not currently planned, Tate has started filming for a Christmas special which will air in December 2007.^[1]

Main characters

This is only a list and small description of the most popular or well-known characters. A full list and descriptions can be found here: Main articles: The Catherine Tate Show characters


★ 'Lauren Cooper' - An argumentative teenage girl who gets out of awkward situations by repeating her catchphrase, "Am I bovvered?"

★ 'Joannie "Nan" Taylor' - The foul-mouthed grandmother who constantly swears at and criticises other people, including her grandson. She often uses the phrase "What a fucking liberty".

★ 'Kate and Ellen' - Two office workers who sit next to each other. While one (played by Ella Kenion) is usually keen to get on with her work, she is frequently disturbed by Tate's character, who asks her to guess answers to questions.

★ 'The Aga Saga Woman' - An upper middle class English woman who goes into a state of shock in various, seemingly harmless, situations.

★ 'Derek Faye' - Derek is a man who shows several signs of being gay but seems to be in denial about his sexuality and becomes extremely offended and defensive when people assume he is gay.

★ 'Janice and Ray' - A Northern couple who express their disgust at restaurant meals, often due to the over-pricing or exotic nature of the food such as grapes in a brie cheese sandwich, before using their catchphrase "The dirty bastards!"

★ 'Geordie Georgie' - A frequent petitioner, who constantly tries to get her co-worker, Martin, to sponsor her with facts such as "Every 38 minutes ..." then follows her statements up with "If you don't believe me then log on to the website ...".

Catchphrases

These are some of the most well-known catchphrases from ''The Catherine Tate Show'':

★ "Am I bovvered?" - 'Lauren Cooper'

★ "Look, I ain't bovvered!" - 'Lauren Cooper'

★ "Face. Look at my face. Is my face bovvered?" - 'Lauren Cooper'

★ "Are you disrespectin' me?" - 'Lauren Cooper'

★ "Is It." - 'Lauren Cooper'

★ "All right." - 'Lauren Cooper'

★ "What a fackin' liberty!" - 'Joannie "Nan" Taylor'

★ "Oh, they want shooting!" - 'Joannie "Nan" Taylor'

★ "What a load of old shit!" - 'Joannie "Nan" Taylor'

★ "'Ere he is." - 'Joannie "Nan" Taylor'

★ "Oh, fucking chill out!" - 'Joannie "Nan" Taylor'

★ "You'll never guess what's 'appened to me today." - 'Paul and Sam'

★ "I dunno!" - 'Paul and Sam'

★ "Have a guess!" - 'Kate and Ellen'

★ "We're all going to die!" - 'The Aga Saga Woman'

★ "I beg pardon!?" - 'Derek Faye'

★ "What on ''earth'' are you insinuating!?" - 'Derek Faye'

★ "Who, dear? Me, dear? Gay, dear? No, dear!" - 'Derek Faye'

★ "I find you impertinent!" - 'Derek Faye'

★ "How ''very'' dare you?!" - 'Derek Faye'

★ "I've never been so insulted." - 'Derek Faye'

★ "Don't ask!" - 'Janice and Ray'

★ "What were it called?" - 'Janice and Ray'

★ "The dirty bastards!" - 'Janice and Ray'

★ "Listen to this..." - 'Janice and Ray'

★ "Mornin' Martin! How was your weekend, pet?" - 'Geordie Georgie'

★ "Did you know that every thirty-eight minutes...?" - 'Geordie Georgie'

★ "If you don't believe me then log on to the website; www...co.uk". - 'Geordie Georgie'

★ "Let's say no more about it, because I wouldn't want it to come between us pet. - 'Geordie Georgie'

★ "Morning, Neville..." - 'Irene and Vern'

★ "You'll never believe who was here." - 'Irene and Vern'

★ "Any sauce?" - 'Irene and Vern'

★ "I'm a fiery Taurean with my moon in Uranus. Careful! I'll do the jokes." - 'Amanda'

★ "I can do that!" - 'Helen Marsh'

★ "It's like Picadilly Circus in here!" - 'Frightened Woman'

Characters in each series

'Series one' ★ Lauren Cooper the teenager ★ Joannie “Nan” Taylor ★ Bernie ★ Paul and Sam ★ Kate and Ellen ★ Elaine Figgis ★ The Aga Saga Woman ★ Information Woman ★ Bunty Carmichael ★ Frightened Woman ★ The Enigmatic Cop ★ New Parents ★ Valley Girl ★ The Drunk Estate Agent ★ The Backhander Woman ★ Last Hit Woman ★ Lady Clown ★ Botox Babe ★ Not Drunk Enough Woman

'Series two' ★ Lauren Cooper the teenager ★ Joannie “Nan” Taylor ★ Bernie ★ Paul and Sam ★ Kate and Ellen ★ Elaine Figgis ★ The Aga Saga Woman ★ Derek Faye ★ Irene and Vern ★ Janice and Ray ★ Tactless Woman ★ Moo Shepherd ★ Victoria Russel ★ Sandra Kemp ★ Annoying Waitress ★ Trudy and Ivan ★ Sheila Carter ★ Crap Croupier ★ Boob Job Babe ★ DI Angie Barker

'Series three' ★ Lauren Cooper ★ Joannie “Nan” Taylor ★ The Aga Saga Woman ★ Derek Faye ★ Irene and Vern ★ Janice and Ray ★ Geordie Georgie ★ Paul and Sam ★ Bernie ★ Elaine Figgis ★ Ulster Mum ★ Ma Willow (Life at Ma’s) ★ Sandra Kemp ★ Helen Marsh the “I can do that” woman ★ Laura Powers the spy ★ Snack Food Woman ★ Frankie Howerd Impressionist

Series one (2004)

The first series of the show, which consisted of six episodes, aired from February 16 to March 22, 2004. The show's theme tune for the first series was "In These Shoes?" by Kirsty MacColl.

After series one

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 Cooper the teenager and the Joannie Taylor the foul-mouthed grandmother. Meanwhile, repeats of all six episodes of the first series aired on UKTV G2. Tate also appeared in a comedy sketch with boy band McFly (see charity sketches for details).
In 2004, Catherine Tate won a British Comedy Award for "Best comedy newcomer" for her work on the first series of ''The Catherine Tate Show''.

Series two (2005)

The second series aired from July 21 to August 25, 2005. Following Tate's Comic Relief appearance with McFly, and news of her non-existent feud with David Schwimmer,^[2] 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 with viewing figures than the first. This series secured ratings of 2.89 to 3.92 million, with the final episode receiving higher viewing figures than the episode of ''Extras'' which aired beforehand.^[3] Celebrities such as Peter Kay and Jill Halfpenny made guest appearances in series two.
The second series began airing (on free-to-air television) in Australia on April 4, 2007 on ABC TV.^[4] Prior to this the BBC-Owned Australian Cable Channel UK.TV had aired the complete series starting in 2004. The re-runs of the series were shown starting from May 6, 2007.

After series two

In November 2005, Tate was a guest at the 77th ''Royal Variety Performance'', and appeared in the guise of teenager Lauren Cooper, accompanied by Lauren's friends, Ryan and Liese. After Lauren embarrassed herself in front of the audience, Ryan pointed out that the Queen was laughing at her. Looking up at the Royal Box, she asked "Are you disrespecting me?" and mimicked the Queen's accent, asking, "Is one bovvered? Is one's face bovvered?", before adding, "Who is looking after the corgis?"^[5] The Queen was seen laughing at this joke, and Prince Phillip also appeared to take this in good humour. There were, however, reports that the Prince was extremely unimpressed by the performance and complained to the show's executive producer.^[6] She also appeared as Lauren in a special sketch for the BBC's annual Children in Need telethon. The segment was a crossover with ''EastEnders'' (see charity sketches for details).

A Christmas show was aired on December 20, 2005. It featured appearances from celebrity guests Richard Park, Charlotte Church and Chas & Dave. During the show, Paul and Sam's two children were seen for the first time, who looked like, and had identical characteristics to their parents. The characters of Margaret and the enigmatic detective, who did not appear in series two, made appearances in the Christmas special. According to BARB's official viewing figures, over 5.66 million viewers watched the show, making it the most-watched programme at the time and the most watched programme on BBC Two the week it was aired.^[7]
The second series started airing on UKTV G2 in January 2006. Series one continued on UKTV Gold. The second series was also being screened on BBC America, and repeated on BBC Two, from June 2006. Following the success of series two, Tate launched a range of merchandise based on characters from the show in 2006. In September 2006 ''The Catherine Tate Show'' official calendar 2007 was released. Also, on the October 2, 2006 a book was released of the scripts of both Series one and two, called ''Am I Bovvered The Catherine Tate Show Scripts''.
On December 13, 2006, Tate won another British Comedy Award for "Best TV Comedy Actress" for her work in the second series of ''The Catherine Tate Show''.

Series three (2006)

The third series started on October 26, 2006 and ran until November 25, 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 would not be as pressured to secure higher ratings.
The series gained strong viewing figures for BBC Two, ranging from 4.00 to 4.92 million, becoming the top show on BBC Two each week.^[8] There were many more guest appearances in the third series which included Paul O'Grady being featured in a sketch with Joannie "Nan" Taylor when she appeared on ''The Paul O'Grady Show''.

After series three

On February 19, 2007, Tate appeared again on ''This Morning'' and stated that a forty minute Comic Relief special had been made, which aired on March 16, 2007. Several sketches were interspersed throughout the Comic Relief programme, with guests such as the prime minister at the time, Tony Blair (see charity sketches for details).
Tate has revealed that she is considering taking the characters from the show on the road for a UK stage tour.^[9] Series Three will be released on DVD on October 8 2007.
A new Christmas special will air in December 2007 and will feature a flashback of Joannie "Nan" Taylor from the 1950s. It is rumoured that the character of Lauren Cooper will be killed off during the special.^[10][11] It has also been revealed that the pop star George Michael has been contracted to make a guest appearance in the special, causing speculation that he will have something to do with Lauren's supposed death,^[12] but this is not confirmed.^[13] It is now believed that he will be featured in a kissing scene with Irish nurse, Bernie.^[14] Kim Cattrall has also expressed an interest in appearing on the show. Cattrall comented that she is a "huge fan" and would like to be given a role.^[15]
Tate is also concentrating on other projects such as her role as Donna Noble, due to appear in a 13-week run of ''Doctor Who''.^[16]

Charity sketches

Tate made an appearance during the BBC's Comic Relief telethon in March 2005, in the guise of Lauren Cooper. 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 bovvered?" 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."^[17]
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 as Peggy Mitchell, Kacey Ainsworth as Little Mo and Lacey Turner as Stacey Slater. The sketch saw Lauren arrive in Walford in search of revenge on Stacey, who had apparently 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?" (pronounced 'Cock-er-ney') and "Do you know Chas & Dave? Are you their mum?" repeatedly. Peggy also unintentionaly used some of Lauren's catchphrases, 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, "Bovvered?".^[18]

"Nan" talking to The Banker

In the BBC's Sport Relief, Tate did a sketch as Nan Taylor, commenting on the 1966 world cup win and the comments of Kenneth Wolstenholme. The sketch involved Nan and her grandson watching a David Beckham football game, where she expressed her disgust at the objective of football by exlaiming "What a load of old shit!"^[19]
On March 16 2007, Catherine Tate appeared on Comic Relief as many of her well-known characters from the show. The sketches were interspersed throughout the Comic Relief programme. Guests in sketches included David Tennant (who acted as Lauren Cooper's teacher and actually turned out to be the real Doctor), and Daniel Craig as another one of Elaine Figgis's boyfriends whom she had met through the internet. During his time as prime minister, Tony Blair made a cameo appearance in a sketch which saw Lauren Cooper on work experience at Downing Street. Upon Lauren attempting to tell Blair who the most famous person she had met was, he asked ''her'' if he was "bovvered". ^[20][21] Geordie Georgie made an appearance with Lenny Henry when he did his own fundraising for Comic Relief, and Joannie Taylor also appeared on game show ''Deal or No Deal'' hosted by Noel Edmonds.^[22] The DVD of the sketches was available exclusively to Amazon and became the most pre-ordered DVD the site has ever seen.

Awards

Won

★ 2004: Banff Rockie Award — Best Comedy

★ 2004: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Newcomer

★ 2006: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

★ 2006: RTS Television Award — Best Comedy Performance

★ 2006: RTS Television Award — Best Entertainment

Nominated

★ 2004: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

★ 2004: RTS Television Award — Best Make Up Design in Entertainment and Non-Drama Productions

★ 2005: BAFTA TV Award — Best New Writer

★ 2005: BAFTA TV Award — Comedy Programme or Series Award

★ 2005: British Comedy Award — Best TV Comedy Actress

★ 2005: Emmy — Best Performance by an Actress

★ 2006: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Performance

★ 2006: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Programme or Series "production team"

★ 2006: National Television Award — Most Popular Comedy Programme

★ 2007: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Programme

★ 2007: BAFTA TV Award — Best Make Up & Hair Design

Guest stars

Series two

★ Brian Murphy - with Irene and Vern

★ Charlotte Church - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Chas & Dave - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Geraldine McNulty - with Paul and Sam

★ Jill Halfpenny - with The Aga Saga Woman

★ Michael Brandon - with Boob Job Babe

Bonnie Langford with Derek Faye (middle) and Leonard Mincing

★ Paul Whitehouse - with Paul and Sam

★ Peter Kay - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Richard Park - with Lauren Cooper

★ Roger Allam - with Bernie

★ Siobhan Redmond - with Gingers For Justice

★ Una Stubbs - with Trudy and Ivan

Series three

★ Bonnie Langford - with Derek Faye

★ Jools Holland - with Helen Marsh (the "I can do that" woman)

★ Leslie Phillips - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Natalie Cassidy - with Lauren Cooper

★ Nick Sidi - with Derek Faye

★ Patsy Palmer - with Gingers For Justice

★ Paul O'Grady - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Sheila Hancock - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Siobhan Redmond - with Gingers For Justice

★ Tom Ellis - with Ma Willow (Life at Ma's)

Charity sketches

★ Daniel Craig - with Elaine Figgis

★ David Tennant - with Lauren Cooper

★ Lenny Henry - with Geordie Georgie

★ Little Mo Slater - with Lauren Cooper

★ McFly - with Lauren Cooper

★ Noel Edmonds - with Joannie "Nan" Taylor

★ Peggy Mitchell - with Lauren Cooper

★ Simon Amstell - with Lauren Cooper

★ Stacey Slater - with Lauren Cooper

★ Tony Blair - with Lauren Cooper

DVD releases

DVD Name	Release Date	Additional Information	Photo
''The Catherine Tate Show'' -''Series One''	August 2005	One Disc DVD set, containing all six episodes from the first series.Special features: ★ '2005 Comic Relief Appearance' ★ 'Behind the scenes interview with Catherine Tate' ★ 'Interviews on how the characters came about '
''The Catherine Tate Show'' -''Series Two''	October 2006	One Disc DVD set, containing all six episodes from the second series.Special features: ★ ' 2005 Christmas Special ' ★ ' Character sketch selection '
''The Catherine Tate Comic Relief Special''	April 2007	One Disc DVD set, containing all sketches featured on Red Nose Night.Exclusive to amazon.co.uk.Special features: ★ 'An extended version of the Nan ''Deal or No Deal'' sketch'
''The Catherine Tate Show: Series One & Two (Australian Release)	April 2007	Two Disc DVD set, containing all twelve episodes from both Series One (2004) and Series Two (2005.Exclusive to ABC Shops, ABC Centres & ABC Online Stores.Special Features: ★ ' Episode Selection ' ★ ' 2005 Christmas Special '

See also

★ The Catherine Tate Show characters

References

1. "Catherine Tate takes foul-mouthed Nan back in time". ''The Mail on Sunday''. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
2. "Catherine Tate denies Schwimmer feud". ''Digital Spy''. Retrieved August 15, 2007.
3. "Weekly Viewing Summary. Scroll from 24/07/05 - 28/08/05". ''BARB''. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
4. "The Catherine Tate Show". ''ABC''. Retrieved
5. "Tate asks if Queen is 'bovvered'". ''BBC News''. Retrieved December 28, 2006.
6. "Catherine Tate: The shy star". ''The Independent''. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
7. "Weekly Viewing Summary. Scroll to 25/12/05". ''BARB''. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
8. "Weekly Viewing Summary. Scroll from 29/10/06 - 03/12/06". ''BARB''. Retrieved January 21, 2007.
9. "Catherine Tate to go on tour?". ''ITV News''. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
10. "Bovvered Lauren 'to be killed off'". ''AOL''. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
11. "Catherine Tate to kill off character?". ''Digital Spy''. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
12. "Bovvered no more: Catherine Tate to 'kill off' Lauren". ''Mail On Sunday''. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
13. "Michael to be in Tate sketch show". ''BBC News''. Retrieved July 26, 2007.
14. "George says don't kiss me, Tate". ''The Sun''. Retrieved August 12, 2007.
15. "Kim Cattrall wants Catherine Tate role". ''Digital Spy''. Retrieved September 9, 2007.
16. "Tate to be Doctor's companion". ''BBC News''. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
17. "The Guardian profile: Catherine Tate". ''The Guardian''. Retrieved July 18 2007.
18. "Catherine Tate appears in Walford". ''BBC News''. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
19. "Catherine Tate Sports relief". ''You Tube''. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
20. "Catherine Tate hails Blair's comic skills". ''The Daily Telegraph''. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
21. "Blair? He is a real joker, says Lauren". ''London Evening Standard''. Retrieved July 28, 2007.
22. "Catherine Tate DVD 'sets record'". ''BBC News''. Retrieved June 4, 2007.

External links

★

★ Catherinetateshow.co.uk — Fansite

★ Catherinetate.co.uk — Fansite

★ The Catherine Tate Show Scripts