The Catherine Tate Show

The Catherine Tate Show, a British comedy sketch series created solely by Catherine Tate, introduced a broad cast of characters. Broadcast on BBC Two and distributed globally by the BBC, the programme earned six BAFTA Award nominations, two British Comedy Award nominations, and an Emmy Award nomination. It won two Royal Television Society Awards, two British Comedy Awards, and a National Television Award after its 2004 premiere.

The first series ran for six episodes from 16 February to 22 March 2004, with a DVD released in August 2005. A second series aired from 21 July to 25 August 2005, followed by a 40-minute Christmas special on 20 December 2005, which retained the same theme tune as the first series; its DVD came out in October 2006. The third series aired from 14 October to 25 November 2006. Despite speculation it would be the last, Tate stated on *This Morning* that she had never said that and hoped to at least make future specials. A Christmas special aired on 25 December 2007. Tate later announced no further series would follow, but a Christmas special appeared on 25 December 2009, and a 30-minute episode featuring the Nan character aired in January 2014. Two new Christmas specials, again centred on Nan, aired on 27 and 30 December 2015. On 4 January 2016, Tate said she had no plans for more specials due to other commitments. On 24 November 2018, during a Sydney show of her Australian tour, Tate revealed another series was in the works, though none has yet been produced.

Notable characters include Joanie "Nan" Taylor, a foul-mouthed grandmother who constantly swears at and criticises others, especially when they are not present. These sketches often feature her grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne), but some sketches feature Nan alone or with other characters. She often says, “What a load of ol' shit!” and is overly nice to visitors before dropping the act once they leave, exclaiming, “What a fuckin' liberty!” over trivial complaints. When her grandson takes her to a pound shop, she asks the price of everything that catches her eye. Paul and Sam are a Thames Estuary/Essex couple played by Tate and former *EastEnders* actor Lee Ross. Sam returns from work with “amazing” tales of her mundane day, and Paul matches her excitement, blowing trivial matters out of proportion.