The Britons That Made It Big
Last updated: 03/08/2006 - 13:14
Ruling the radio airwaves and back on telly soon - Bafta award winning Little Britain is everywhere.
Little Britain...On Radio and the 'Best of' TV Series 1 and Series 2
Time to pop down the rabbit-hole for a whistle-stop tour of the barmy people and places that makes Britain, Britain.
Little Britain is currently - without doubt - the most popular comedy series in this green and pleasant land. With a third television series coming to BBC TV soon fans are also getting to see Little Britain off screen as Matt Lucas and David Walliams plough through a massive tour with a new stage version of the show.
The critics reactions to the opening night of the 113-date tour at Portsmouth Guildhall, were unanimous in their praise:
"Often grotesque, obvious and gaudy, it has all the promise of being this winter's most successful pantomime" - Julian Hall writing in The Independent.
"You can tell an act has hit the big-time when grown men in the audience are prepared to copy their frocks and women happily ape the shabbiest shell suits...Analysts can easily spot social comment in some sketches, but Little Britain is as keen on honest vulgarity as making a political point. At their best, however, they do both." - Bruce Dessau writing in the London Evening Standard.
"All the favourites were in top form - and without the restrictions of TV censorship, we were treated to the most daring material yet...Matt and David proved that not since Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson's Bottom has a TV series been turned into such a great live show" - Victoria Newton writing in The Sun.
To tie-in with the forthcoming series and sell out tour, BBC Audiobooks are publishing two new CDs and a limited edition audio box set.
For more information, visit the home of Little Britain on the web by following this link.
On Tour
Creators/performers Lucas and Walliams cook up a mixture of characters that are at times painfully accurate and at others just completely batty. Don't know what this is all about? Can't understand the appeal? We take a look through the interesting characters to be found in and around little ol' Britain:
Everyone's favourite gay Welshman. Being the only gay (though not really) he is desperate to shock and be the lone pioneer of all things gay. Whether he is, in fact, alone, or not...
A woman always ready with some more key dieting tips for her weight watching class, this woman takes the term 'cruel to be kind' to another level. Mean-spirited Marjorie (played by Lucas) delights in pointing out all the members' dietary faults whilst simultaneously ignoring her own.
The nation's least convinving transvestite, Emily (played by Walliams) is a 'laydee', don't you know - and determined to prove to all an sundry how very lady-like he is.
Often found with friend in tow - the moustached Florence (played by Lucas) who may just give him a run for his money on how unconvincing he can be...Whether it's wedding shops and ladies tennis or trips to 'ye olde tea shoppes' and the ballet, only the most lady-like of activities will do!
Incomprehensible as ever, teenaged shell-suit wearing Vicky (played by Lucas) blusters her way through adolescence. With her catch phrase: “Yeah but no but yeah but no but” Vicky is a paragon of lucid, motivated British youth.
The life of the Prime Minister (played by Anthony Stewart Head) is very hard work indeed - and made even harder by the fact that his aide Sebastian (played by Walliams) is desperately in love with him.
Bubbles is the obese wife (played by Lucas) of a mysteriously absent businessman who spends her every waking moment being pampered and preened in a health spa.
Whenever the manager, Mr Hutton (Walliams again), tries to establish how her elusive husband intends on paying her ever expanding bill, she fobs him off and tries to offer 'alternative' methods of payment - which mainly seem to involve her naked flesh...and there is certainly a lot of it!
Then there's Kenny Craig the not-very-hypnotising hypnotist, the miniature Dennis Waterman who still wants 'to write the theme toon and sing the theme toon', and many more...
On Disc
Little Britain: 'Best of' TV Series 1 and 'Best of' TV Series 2, available on compact disc, contain the choicest selection from the TV soundtrack. Slot one of these into your car stereo, or upload to your MP3 player, and Dafydd, Marjorie, Sebastian, Vicky, Andy & Lou and the ladylike tones of Emily Howard will have you chuckling even in the middle of the most hellish traffic jam or tube journey.
An absolute ‘must have’ for the Little Britain fan will be the limited edition embossed, collector’s tin which contains 8 discs. Little Britain...On Radio features the two BBC radio series in newly designed sleeves, the story of Little Britain; an extended, exclusive interview with Lucas and Walliams and some of the BBC Radio 4 pilot of Sir Bernard Chumley from 1996 which predates Little Britain and has never been broadcast. The tin also contains a 2 hour long DVD featuring never seen before footage of Little Britain in the studio recording both of their radio series, from Matt Lucas’s own private archive.
Little Britain’s previous comedy CDs have been phenomenally successful topping the album charts on iTunes amongst others.The titles are available from all good bookshops, online at: www.bbcshop.com and by direct mail on: 0800 136 919 - from BBC Audiobooks.
The Little Britain...On Radio limited edition tin is out now - as are the Little Britain: Best of TV Series 1 and Little Britain: Best of TV Series 2 CD collections, from BBC Audiobooks.
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