The Catherine Tate Show series 1

The first series of British television sketch comedy The Catherine Tate Show premiered on BBC Two on 16 February 2004. It consists of six episodes and concluded on 22 March 2004. In the first series audiences are introduced to various characters portrayed by Catherine Tate, including Joannie 'Nan' Taylor, Lauren Cooper and Bernie, the Irish nurse. The series was entirely written by Tate alongside Mathew Horne, Derren Litten, Aschlin Ditta, Arthur Mathews and Bruce Mackinnon.

The Catherine Tate Show
Season 1
Region 2 DVD cover
No. of episodes6
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Original releaseFebruary 16 (2004-02-16) –
March 22, 2004 (2004-03-22)
Series chronology
Next →
Series 2
List of episodes

The series premiered in the United States on 27 November 2004 on an unknown network and concluded on 21 February 2005.

Series one is the recipient of a BAFTA Award, British Comedy Award, and a Banff Rockie Award. It has received several nominations including a BAFTA Award, a British Comedy Award, a Royal Television Society Award and an International Emmy Award.

Characters

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  • Joannie 'Nan' Taylor: The foul-mouthed grandmother is an old East London woman who constantly swears at and criticises other people. She is always visited by her well-mannered grandson Jamie, where the visits usually start off well enough, with the Nan showing how grateful she is that her grandson has come to see her. However, things usually take a turn for the worse after she starts to make unfavourable comments about her neighbours, family, and home help visitors. Jamie is a university student, but according to Nan, is unemployed. Nan repeatedly asserts that he is gay, although Jamie has said on many occasions that he has a girlfriend. Regular performances by Catherine Tate and Mathew Horne.
  • Lauren Cooper: Lauren Cooper is a comprehensive school student with a bad attitude who is most widely known for her phrase "Am I bovvered?". Lauren, her best friend Lisa 'Liese' Jackson and her love interest Ryan Perkins are known as yobs. Regular performances by Catherine Tate, Mathew Horne and Niky Wardley.
  • Bernie: The incompetent Irish nurse. Bernie is an unruly, randy woman who bordered on being sacked in the hospital where she worked in every episode. She frequently makes inappropriate remarks to her patients, flirts with most of the male staff, takes a critically ill patient on a wild night out, and mixes up the records of living patients with those of deceased ones. Regular performance by Catherine Tate.
  • Paul and Sam: The Essex couple. They are happily married yet slightly simple, and find everyday situations surprisingly hilarious. Paul and Sam often excitedly tell each other stories, which they find highly amusing and interesting. The stories build up and when completed, Paul and Sam would both produce an exaggerated and completely silent laugh. Regular performances by Catherine Tate and Lee Ross.
  • Kate and Ellen: This sketch follows two office workers who sit next to each other. While Ellen is usually keen to get on with her work, she is frequently disturbed by Kate (Tate). Kate continually makes conversation about her lifestyle, inviting her co-worker to "Have a guess!" on such delicate situations. While Ellen is reluctant to go along with the guessing games, she is pressured into making a wild guess, which almost always results in Kate becoming insulted and consequently offensive. Ellen occasionally guesses correctly, causing Kate to become angry and verbally or physically abusive towards her. Regular performances by Catherine Tate and Ella Kenion.
  • Elaine Figgis: Elaine is a woman who appears in a documentary following her search for love, mostly corresponding with men around the world via the Internet. The unseen interviewer and narrator called Tanya follows her engagement and eventual marriage to a convicted cannibal and lunatic on Death Row in the US, who abducted, tortured and murdered eight people, proceeding to eat two of them. Regular performance by Catherine Tate and Rebecca Front as the voice of Tanya.
  • The Aga Saga Woman: An upper-middle-class woman who goes into a state of shock in various, seemingly innocuous situations. Regular performance by Catherine Tate.

Episodes

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No.
overall
No. in
series
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [1]
11"Episode 1"Gordon AndersonCatherine Tate, Derren Litten, Mathew Horne & Aschlin Ditta16 February 2004 (2004-02-16)N/A (<2.40)[a]
  1. Frightened Woman - Cereal
  2. Not Drunk Enough
  3. Lauren - Beyoncé
  4. Botox Babe
  5. Nan - Home Help
  6. Aga Saga Woman - Egg
  7. New Parents Car Party
  8. How Many How Much - Weight
  9. Frightened Woman - Mobile
  10. New Parents Car Party
  11. How Many How Much - Extras
  12. Paul & Sam - Spaniel
  13. New Parents Car Party
  14. Frightened Woman - Toast
  15. Enigmatic Cop - Scrapyard
  16. How Many How Much - House
  17. Enigmatic Cop - Scrapyard
22"Episode 2"Gordon AndersonCatherine Tate, Derren Litten, Mathew Horne & Aschlin Ditta23 February 2004 (2004-02-23)N/A (<2.40)[a]
  1. Frightened Woman - Birthday
  2. Info Woman - Lost Mother
  3. Bernie - Photocopier
  4. Frightened Woman - Posti-It Note
  5. Nan - Charles Manson
  6. Info Woman - Jumper
  7. Paul & Sam - Catalogue
  8. Drunk Estate Agent
  9. Lauren - Party
  10. Elaine Figgis, Woman of Courage - Death Row Wife
  11. Info Woman - Glazier
  12. Nan - Piccalilli
  13. Frightened Woman - Microwave
  14. Elaine Figgis, Woman of Courage - Death Row Wife
33"Episode 3"Gordon AndersonCatherine Tate, Derren Litten & Arthur Mathews1 March 2004 (2004-03-01)N/A (<2.08)[a]
  1. Lauren - Conductor
  2. Aga Saga Woman - Olive Oil
  3. Frightened Woman - Sneeze
  4. Enigmatic Cop - Warehouse
  5. Paul & Sam - Not Turned Up
  6. Bunty -Trophy
  7. Valley Girl
  8. Bernie - New Nurse
  9. Valley Girl
  10. Nan - Window Cleaner
  11. Frightened Woman - Hiccups
  12. Elaine Figgis, Woman of Courage - Death Row Wife
  13. Valley Girl
  14. Frightened Woman - Crisps
44"Episode 4"Gordon AndersonCatherine Tate, Derren Litten & Aschlin Ditta8 March 2004 (2004-03-08)N/A (<2.37)[a]
  1. Paul & Sam - Zimbabwe
  2. Backhander Woman - Windscreen
  3. Bunty - Flashdance
  4. Paul & Sam - Cafetière
  5. Backhander Woman - Wholefood Shop
  6. New Parents - Driving
  7. Paul & Sam - Human Resources
  8. How Many How Much - Kids
  9. Backhander Woman - Mime
  10. Lauren - Note
  11. How Many How Much - Holiday
  12. Nan - Meals on Wheels
  13. How Many How Much - Sandwich
  14. New Parents
55"Episode 5"Gordon AndersonCatherine Tate, Derren Litten, Arthur Mathews & Mathew Horne15 March 2004 (2004-03-15)N/A (<2.33)[a]
  1. Last Hit Woman - Boardroom
  2. Aga Saga Woman - Brie
  3. Last Hit Woman - Lift
  4. Lady Clown - Original
  5. Last Hit Woman - Lift
  6. Bernie - Mr Willis
  7. Last Hit Woman - Car Accident
  8. Bunty - Stalker
  9. Lady Clown - Face Painting
  10. Last Hit Woman - Ambulance
  11. Martin Webb - Train
  12. Lady Clown - Balloons
  13. Enigmatic Cop - Riverside
  14. Last Hit Woman - Hospital
  15. Nan - Pound Shop
  16. Last Hit Woman - Cemetery
  17. Bunty
66"Episode 6"Gordon AndersonCatherine Tate, Derren Litten, Mathew Horne, Bruce Mackinnon & Aschlin Ditta22 March 2004 (2004-03-22)N/A (<2.20)[a]
  1. Frightened Woman - Restaurant
  2. How Many How Much - Cornwall
  3. Elaine Figgis, Woman of Courage - Death Row Wife - Execution
  4. How Many How Much - Run
  5. Bernie - Assessment
  6. Lauren - Ryan
  7. Frightened Woman - Call Me Back
  8. Bunty - Restraining Order
  9. Frightened Woman - Champagne
  10. How Many How Much - What Am I Thinking?
  11. Nan - Ugly Baby
  1. ^ a b c d e f Not reported in the weekly top 15 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.

Release

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Reception

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No. Title Air date Timeslot UK viewers
(millions)
Rank Ref(s)
1 Episode 1 16 February 2004 Monday 10.00pm Under 2,404,000 [1]
2 Episode 2 23 February 2004 Monday 10.00pm Under 2,080,000 [1]
3 Episode 3 1 March 2004 Monday 10.00pm Under 2,237,000 [1]
4 Episode 4 8 March 2004 Monday 10.00pm Under 2,372,000 [1]
5 Episode 5 15 March 2004 Monday 10.00pm Under 2,331,000 [1]
6 Episode 6 22 March 2004 Monday 9.30pm Under 2,198,000 [1]

Accolades

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Royal Television Society 2004

Banff World Television Festival 2004

British Comedy Awards 2004

British Academy Television Awards 2005

International Emmy Awards 2005

Home media

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"The Complete First Season" was released on DVD Region 1 in the United States and Canada on 25 September 2007 from White Star distribution.[3]

"Series One" was released on DVD Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2005 via 2 Entertain distribution. Special features contain the 2005 Comic Relief Appearance and a behind the scenes interview with Catherine Tate on how the characters came about. It was subsequently released as part of "Series One and Series Two" DVD on 30 October 2006, and as part of "Complete Series One, Two & Three" DVD on 12 November 2007.[4] A UMD (Universal Media Disc), which is only compatible with the PlayStation Portable, of the first series was made available from 2 Entertain on 12 December 2005.[5]

"Series One" was released on DVD Region 4 in Australia on 7 November 2007 via Hopscotch Entertainment.[6] Prior to the individual release of the first series, a box set continuing the first two series was released on 6 September 2007, and a box set comprising all three series was released on 2 April 2009.

Further reading

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  • Am I Bovvered: The Catherine Tate Show Scripts (2 October 2006 - Fourth Estate, ISBN 978-0007242184)[7]
  • Catherine Tate: Laugh It Up! (6 October 2008 - Andre Deutsch Ltd, ISBN 978-0233002590) by Tina Ogle.[8]

U.S. airdates

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Episode Airdate
1
27 November 2004
2
18 December 2004
3
17 January 2005
4
24 January 2005
5
14 February 2005
6
21 February 2005

References

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