''Fat Friends'' (also known as ''Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends'') is a British drama that aired on ITV from 12 October 2000 to 24 March 2005, consisting of 25 episodes over four series. Set in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, the series explores the lives of several

slimming club Slimming clubs are support groups to encourage weight loss through healthy diet and fitness. Known as lifestyle weight management programmes, slimming clubs have been recommended by the National Health Service in the UK since 2007. Public slimming ...

members, with a focus on the various ways their weight has impacted upon them. The series was created by

Kay Mellor The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own r ...

and made by Rollem Productions in association with

Tiger Aspect Productions Tiger Aspect Productions (formerly known as Tiger Television from 1988 until 1993 and also known as Tiger Aspect Films for theatrical films) is a British television and film production company, particularly noted for its situation comedies. Fo ...

and

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

. Four of the cast –

Ruth Jones Ruth Alexandra Elisabeth Jones (born 22 September 1966) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-wrote and co-starred in the award-winning BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' (2007–2010, 2019). Jones has also appeared in various ...

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey''. In the ...

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints of ...

and

Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as M ...

– went on to appear in the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers ...

''. Jonathan Ryland who played Kevin, the husband to Ruth Jones' character also appeared in ''Gavin and Stacey'' as the celebrant who presided when Pete and Dawn renewed their wedding vows.

Premise

''Fat Friends'' is set around a slimming club in the

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

district of

. The club is run by the formidable Carol (

Janet Dibley Janet Dibley (born 13 December 1958) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Elaine Walker in the 1980s sitcom '' The Two of Us'', Lorna Cartwright in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and Elaine Cassidy in the BBC soap opera '' D ...

), who fruitlessly tries to persuade the members of the group to follow the "Super Slimmers"

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

. 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 and characters

as Betty Simpson *

Gaynor Faye Gaynor Kay Mellor (born 26 August 1971), better known as Gaynor Faye, is an English actress and writer, best known for playing Judy Mallett in ''Coronation Street'' from 1995 until 1999 and Megan Macey in ''Emmerdale'' from 2012 until 2019 ...

as Lauren Harris *

as Kelly Chadwick (née Simpson) *Jonathan Ryland as Kevin Chadwick *

as Jamie Rymer *

as Carol McGary * Richard Ridings as Alan Ashburn (series 1 and 2) *

Kathryn Hunt Kathryn Hunt is a British actress best known for her roles as Angela Harris in '' Coronation Street'' and Val Lorrimer in Series 1–2 of ''Fat Friends''. She also appeared in '' Waterloo Road'' and ''The Royal''. Kathryn also starred in the ...

as Val Lorrimer (series 1 and 2) * Lisa Riley as Rebecca Patterson (series 2–4) *

Lynda Baron Lilian Ridgway (24 March 1939 – 5 March 2022), known professionally as Lynda Baron, was an English actress and singer. She is best known for having played Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the BBC sitcom ''Open All Hours'' (1976–1985) and its sequel ...

as Norma Patterson (series 2–4)

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2000)

Series 2 (2002)

Series 3 (2004)

Series 4 (2005)

Ratings

Awards and nominations

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

for Alison Steadman – Nominated ** Best Drama Series for Kay Mellor & Greg Brenman & David Reynolds – Nominated *

Royal Television Society Programme Awards The Royal Television Society Programme Awards, (often referred to as the RTS Awards) seek to recognise programmes or individuals who have made a positive and material contribution to their genre: either because their content or originality in fo ...

** 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 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

. * ''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)

Stage musical adaptation

A stage musical adaptation of the series directed and written by original creator,

, with music by Nicholas Lloyd Webber made its world premiere at the Grand Theatre in

on 7 November 2017 before embarking on a UK tour, starring

Jodie Prenger Jodie Prenger (born 12 June 1979) is an English actress and singer, best known as the winner of BBC television series '' I'd Do Anything'' on 31 May 2008 and the second series of ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2006. In 2022, she began portraying the ...

as Kelly Stevenson.

References

External links

* * {{Kay Mellor 2000 British television series debuts 2005 British television series endings 2000s British comedy-drama television series ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios ITV comedy Television series by Banijay Television shows set in Leeds Television shows set in Yorkshire Television series by Yorkshire Television Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions English-language television shows