Fat Friends

Fat Friends
Genre	Drama
Created by	Kay Mellor
Starring	Gaynor Faye
Composer(s)	Mark Russell
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	25
Production
Running time	60 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s)	Rollem Productions Tiger Aspect Productions Yorkshire Television
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	16:9 (576i)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	12 October 2000 – 24 March 2005

Midgley's fish and chip shop in Moor Grange, Leeds featured as 'Big and Battered'

Fat Friends was an ITV drama (made by Rollem Productions in association with Tiger Aspect Productions and Yorkshire Television), following a group of overweight people, their laughter and pain and addresses the absurdities of dieting in our modern age. The drama looks at people and how they relate to one another and use body weight as an excuse for all sorts of failings in their relationships, or not living their lives to the full. Four of the cast, Ruth Jones, James Corden, Sheridan Smith and Alison Steadman, went on to appear in Gavin & Stacey.

Plot

The premise of the programme is set around a slimming club in the Headingley district of Leeds. The club is run by the formidable Carol, who fruitlessly tries to persuade the members of the group to follow the 'Super Slimmers' diet. The characters who attend the club are from varied backgrounds and of varied weight. Whilst some plots continue throughout all four series, each episode focuses on one particular character.

Main cast

• Lauren Harris - Gaynor Faye (series 1-4) - a Jewish actress of average weight. Lauren thinks she is a disappointment to her parents, not being married and struggling to get much acting work. In series 1, she has been dating a non-Jewish fitness instructor called Gareth but that ends when her younger sister announces her engagement to Ben. In series 2, she starts dating a vicar named Paul and later marries him, despite her parents' clear disapproval. Her father also disapproves of her making a living by holding Ann Summers style parties.
• Kelly Chadwick - Ruth Jones (series 1-4) - Kelly works at her father's fish and chip shop and marries Kevin in the first series. Feeling broody at the sight of her much younger brother, Russell, she and Kevin begin trying for a baby almost immediately and go for IVF when unsuccessful. Kelly conceives naturally and gives birth to her son in series 3.
• Rebecca Patterson - Lisa Riley (series 2-4) - Rebecca is a neurotic garden centre worker, who is scarred from a life of bullying. Aided by her boyfriend, she sees that everyone has slight body issues.
• Betty Simpson - Alison Steadman (series 1-4) - mother of Kelly and wife of Douglas. Betty becomes pregnant while in her forties in the first series and discovers her adopted son in series two. She also meets her first boyfriend and father of the son she gave up for adoption - Douglas isn't happy about her seeing this man and so, to save her marriage, she agrees to stop seeing him. Lauren's boyfriend, Paul, helps her track down her son and they begin to build a relationship, despite jealousy from Simon's adoptive parents and Kelly.
• Jamie Rymer - James Corden (series 1-4) - Jamie is fifteen and bullied at school in the first series; while at school, he looks after his depressed mother until school bullies push him to attempt suicide. Following this, his reasons for eating so much are revealed and his mother tries not to lean on him so much. Jamie inherits money from his Gran on his seventeenth birthday, only to be defrauded by a local spiv who poses as his friend. In series three, Jamie, now 20, meets a girl on the internet who lives in a ground floor council flat in Burmantofts. The flat is constantly under attack from local thugs and a jealous ex-husband. In series four, the young woman is killed by a hit and run driver, leaving Jamie to bring up her young child. Jamie is advised to hand the child over to her father but on seeing his violent behaviour, goes to court for an order giving him residency.
• Paul Thompson - Paul Warriner
• Carol McGary - Janet Dibley
• Kevin Chadwick - Jonathan Ryland
• Norma Patterson - Lynda Baron
• Val Lorrimer - Kathryn Hunt
• Tom - Gareth Miller
• Louis Tomlinson (slim thicc, hot, adorable, cutiepie, from one connection)

Episodes

Series One
Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Love Me Slender"	David Wheatley	Kay Mellor	12 October 2000
2	"Fat Chónce"	David Wheatley	Kay Mellor	19 October 2000
3	"Fat Free"	David Wheatley	Kay Mellor	26 October 2000
4	"Growing Pains"	Audrey Cooke	Kay Mellor	2 November 2000
5	"Face the Fat"	Audrey Cooke	Kay Mellor	9 November 2000
6	"When the Fat Lady Sings"	Audrey Cooke	Kay Mellor	16 November 2000

Series Two
Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
7	"Full Belly"	Audrey Cooke	Kay Mellor	5 September 2002
8	"Peaches and Dreams"	Audrey Cooke	Kay Mellor	12 September 2002
9	"Forty and In-fat-urated"	Tania Díez	Jayne Daniel & Kay Mellor	19 September 2002
10	"Sweet and Sour"	Dan Zeff	Kay Mellor	26 September 2002
11	"Sticky Fingers"	Dan Zeff	Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor	3 October 2002
12	"In Full Bloom"	Tania Díez	Lisa Holdsworth & Kay Mellor	10 October 2002
13	"Hunger Pangs"	Audrey Cooke	Kay Mellor	17 October 2002

Series Three
Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
14	"Eat Your Heart Out"	John Deery	Kay Mellor	1 January 2004
15	"Leggs Over Easy"	Jphn Anderson	Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor	7 January 2004
16	"Food for Thought"	Jphn Anderson	Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor	14 January 2004
17	"Bacon, Bagels and the Bishop"	Lance Kneeshaw	Katie Baxendale & Kay Mellor	21 January 2004
18	"Afters"	Lance Kneeshaw	Kay Mellor & Debbie Oates	28 January 2004
19	"Food of Love"	Lance Kneeshaw	Katie Baxendale & Kay Mellor	4 February 2004

Series Four
Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
20	"Enough to Go Around"	John Deere	Kay Mellor	17 February 2005
21	"Second Helpings"	Lance Kneeshaw	Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor	24 February 2005
22	"Angel's Delight"	Lance Kneeshaw	Ruth Jones & Kay Mellor	3 March 2005
23	"Get Out of the Kitchen"	Lance Kneeshaw	Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor	10 March 2005
24	"Healthy Options"	John Anderson	Kay Mellor & Debbie Oates	17 March 2005
25	"Icing on the Cake"	John Anderson	Kay Mellor & Debbie Oates	24 March 2005

Ratings

Episode No. Airdate Total Viewers ITV Weekly Rank 1.1 12 October 2000 10,370,000 13 1.2 19 October 2000 8,660,000 16 1.3 26 October 2000 9,190,000 16 1.4 2 November 2000 9,140,000 15 1.5 9 November 2000 8,790,000 16 1.6 16 November 2000 9,610,000 16

Episode No. Airdate Total Viewers ITV Weekly Rank 2.1 5 September 2002 7,810,000 16 2.2 12 September 2002 7,260,000 14 2.3 19 September 2002 7,280,000 12 2.4 26 September 2002 6,610,000 16 2.5 3 October 2002 6,450,000 18 2.6 10 October 2002 6,990,000 15 2.7 17 October 2002 7,020,000 16

Episode No. Airdate Total Viewers ITV Weekly Rank 3.1 1 January 2004 6,470,000 23 3.2 7 January 2004 7,360,000 19 3.3 14 January 2004 7,470,000 18 3.4 21 January 2004 7,540,000 17 3.5 28 January 2004 8,690,000 22 3.6 4 February 2004 7,240,000 22

Episode No. Airdate Total Viewers ITV Weekly Rank 4.1 17 February 2005 6,560,000 18 4.2 24 February 2005 7,510,000 15 4.3 3 March 2005 7,030,000 19 4.4 10 March 2005 5,600,000 20 4.5 17 March 2005 6,050,000 20 4.6 24 March 2005 5,790,000 19

Awards and nominations

• British Academy Television Award
  • Best Actress for Alison Steadman - Nominated
  • Best Drama Series for Kay Mellor & Greg Brenman & David Reynolds - Nominated
• Royal Television Society Programme Awards
  • On-Screen Network Newcomer for James Corden - Nominated
• TV Quick Awards
  • Best New Drama - Won
• Television and Radio Industries Club Awards
  • TV Drama Programme - Won

Home media

Region 2

A VHS of the first series was released on 24 June 2002. The first three series of Fat Friends have been released on DVD in the United Kingdom via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

• Fat Friends: Series One (released 21 March 2005)
• Fat Friends: Series Two (released 18 April 2005)
• Fat Friends: Series Three (released 18 April 2005)
• Fat Friends: The Complete Series 1, 2 & 3 (released 21 March 2005)

Region 1

• Fat Friends: Season One (released 13 February 2007)

References

External links

• Fat Friends at the Internet Movie Database