doctor who series 4

Catherine Tate's self-titled sketch show and stable of outrageous characters have propelled her to comic stardom. But did you know...

By Paul Barfoot

Childhood obsession

In her youth, Catherine grappled with a word-association form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which rendered her vexed by the simplest rituals of everyday life. Unlike most children, she could not toss her jumper to the floor while undressing for bed for fear that it would bring bad luck to her mother, because jumper starts with the same letter as her mother's first name (Josephine). Thankfully, Catherine managed to kick her wordy mind-bending habit to the curb.

Record breaking comedy

In 2007, Catherine's support for the BBC's flagship charity event, 'Comic Relief', made retail history. Her 34-minute 'Catherine Tate's Comic Relief Special' DVD, sold exclusively through the UK Amazon website, became the most pre-ordered DVD in the online retailer's history (beating such cinematic blockbusters as 'Star Wars', 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Harry Potter'). Star-studded sketches from the DVD were interspersed throughout the 'Comic Relief' broadcast, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair silencing Lauren by declaring "Am I bovvered?" when she asks him to guess the most famous person she has ever met, and was instrumental in the telethon raising a staggering £40.2 million to help worthy causes around the globe.

Christmas controversy

6.4 million Brits tuned into watch the 'Catherine Tate Show' Christmas special on the 25th of December 2007, with potty mouth Nan and loose-lipped Lauren packing enough profanities to attract over 100 complaints from viewers - making it the most contested BBC festive broadcast ever. In addition, OFcom (the watchdog for the British TV industry) logged 42 complaints, many of which objected to the Ulster family portraying the Irish as terrorists by gifting each other with balaclavas and a knuckleduster. Following an investigation, OFcom cleared the BBC of breaching broadcasting codes as it had scheduled the show at a reasonable hour and warned viewers of strong language at the outset. In response to accusations of bigotry, the regulator stated: "While it is appreciated that sensitivities still remain in Northern Ireland, comedy, especially satirical comedy, frequently explores the darker side of humanity."

Catchphrase kudos

The plethora of catchphrases fashioned by Tate's comic incarnations have gripped and shaped the British nation's lexicon, but none quite like the buzzword of her motormouth schoolgirl, Lauren. In 2006, 'bovvered', which ironically acquired widespread cultural currency when the teenagers it caricatured reclaimed the expression and began squawking it on mass, was crowned 'Word of the Year' by the Oxford English Dictionary and listed as an official word in the prestigious publication.

Royal objection

Lauren's rants rarely fails to provoke a belly laugh with fans of the show, but they have certainly failed to raise a smirk with the British Monarchy. When Tate took to the stage as the gobby teenager at the 2005 'Royal Variety Performance', she turned to the royal box, asked the Queen "Is one bovvered?" and snarled that her hubby had slipped into slumber. "She is bing, but the old fella next to her is asleep!" hollered Lauren. Prince Philip was reportedly furious that he had been publicly disrespected and complained to the event's executive producer in the interval.

Personal favourite

Every sketch show comic has a favourite character, and Catherine's is her cantankerous cockney gran, Joannie 'Nan' Taylor. "It's the one character I can look at on screen and not find myself in. It's a very good transformation. In lots of the others it's clear that it's me. I just enjoy playing that character mainly because you get the privilege of age where you can swear and people laugh. Old people swearing is funny," explained Tate.

Hollywood Nan and time-consuming Derek

Catherine claims that she based the physical attributes of Nan on a photograph of Bette Davis that was snapped in the autumn of her life. It takes about 45 minutes worth of make-up to transform the comic into her foul-mouthed alter ego (and just five minutes to take it off), while the layers of facial latex and slap required for Derek 'How very dare you!' Faye takes the make-up team a mammoth three hours to apply.

Bovvered by Christians

In 2007, Catherine threatened to wage legal war on a Christian organisation that bypassed seeking permission to use the vernacular of her characters in a campaign to attract young people to attend church. Christian Publishing and Outreach (which supplies promotional literature to around 20,000 churches across the UK) printed Lauren's signature 'Am I bovvered?' expression and Derek's popular 'How very dare you!' exclamation alongside passages from the bible on posters that were selling like hot cakes for £25 each before Tate expressed her disdain and demanded they be withdrawn.

Shameful scam

With a stack of awards under her belt (including two British Comedy Awards, a National Television Award and a Royal Television Society Award), Catherine is no stranger to scooping trophies – or being unjustly robbed of a gong. At the 2005 British Comedy Awards (produced and broadcast by ITV), Ant and Dec (hosts of the light entertainment show 'Saturday Night Takeaway') were crowned winners of a 'People's Choice Award' following an apparently legitimate premium-rate public phone vote. However, concerns about the way the poll was conducted sparked a lengthy official investigation by leading media law firm, Olswang. It was later disclosed that Catherine garnered the most votes and was in fact the true winner. Ofcom fined ITV £5.7million for the scandal. Tate, who graciously refused to comment on the debacle, was eventually presented with her winning trophy a whopping three years later in 2008.

Political archetype

The UK Conservative Party recently published adverts to enlist actors to play the roles of (what it considers to be) typical Tory voters in its 2010 British General Election TV campaign. Hilariously, one such role was described as a "handsome, curvy mum, in her late 40s, and looking similar to Catherine Tate". Catherine’s agent diplomatically announced that her client was unavailable for the part because of work commitments, but given Tate's left-wing political inclination, it is likely that the gig would never be an attractive proposition for the comic. "I wouldn't say I was a particularly political animal, but I am left rather than right," declared Catherine in 2008, before laughing about how her preference for Caterpillar boots over high heels in her youth led her mother to label her a communist.