Gimme Gimme Gimme (TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series was filmed in front of a live studio audience in Studio 2 at The London Studios, South Bank, London.
• Writer Jonathan Harvey appeared in three episodes: as a guest at the series 1 wedding, as make-up artist Louis, and as a customer in a sofa store.
• The theme music is a cover of ABBA's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).

Premise

Gimme Gimme Gimme centers on loudmouthed Londoner Linda La Hughes, played by Kathy Burke, and her gay flatmate, actor Tom Farrell, played by James Dreyfus. The series is a modern twist on the traditional odd couple format, with much of its humour deriving from lubricious innuendo spoken by both Tom and Linda. Linda is characterized by her red hair, white glasses, and plump, lycra-clad figure; she is boorish and unattractive yet convinced she is a stunner, and in series three she is diagnosed with reverse body dysmorphic disorder. It is suggested that Linda and Tom first met at a nightclub, bonded instantly while both on ecstasy, and decided to live together, with writer Jonathan Harvey describing what follows as one long comedown. Linda often tells humorous anecdotes about her family and childhood that suggest abuse or neglect—such as sleeping on a doormat as a baby, living in a kennel as a child, or being left in a car-boot for two weeks while her aunt went on holiday—but she always views these as positive experiences. She claims her Daddy lives in an iron lung, with only a photo of a sideboard as proof, and she lived in a convent and was sent to a borstal as a teenager. Linda has crushes on Liam Gallagher (losing interest after series one because she could not bring up another bird's child), Robbie Williams, and both male members of Hear'Say, and she imagines having sex with Dale Winton in a toilet cubicle. Tom is melodramatic yet fails to secure acting roles, believing himself truly gifted and blaming his agent or society for his lack of success. He appeared in one episode of EastEnders, often bragging about it while delaying the fact that he had one scene, one line, and did nothing but buy a cagoule from Bianca Jackson's market stall. He also appeared as an extra in Daylight Robbery, standing in a queue in the background, and had one line that was cut due to timekeeping, insisting the entire series was ruined by the axing of his line. Tom has an obsession with appearing middle-class despite his working-class background, possibly because he hates his parents, and it is often suggested he has no friends apart from Linda and his housemates, though he tries to pretend he is popular. Tom is in love with the actor Simon Shepherd.

Characters

Linda La Hughes, played by Kathy Burke, is an unattractive thirty-something woman who wears skin-tight, colourful clothing and bluntly flirts with any man she sees, delusional about her appearance; her age is uncertain as she announces different ages through the three series. Beryl Merit, played by Rosalind Knight, is the elderly landlady of 69 Paradise Passage, a retired prostitute who stays involved in criminal activities such as shoplifting and bootlegging. Jez Littlewood, played by Brian Bovell, is Tom and Linda's hunky middle-class neighbour, and Suze Littlewood, played by Beth Goddard, is his ditzy wife who can be nice or hyperactive and irritating, with Tom and Linda loathing her for standing in the way of their pursuit of Jez. Norma, played by Doña Croll, is Tom's agent who appears in every series. Sharon Hughes or Sugar Walls, played by Elaine Lordan, is Linda's famous sister, a model more famous for her promiscuity than her career, appearing in series 1 and returning in series 2. Simon Shepherd, Tom's celebrity crush famous for starring in Peak Practice, appears in every series. Other recurring or guest actors include Michele Austin, Frances Barber, Mark Benton, Adrian Bower, Moya Brady, Richard Cant, Debbie Chazen, Charlie Condou, Phil Daniels, Hazel Douglas, Mel Giedroyc, Jonathan Harvey, William Hope, Anna Keaveney, Rose Keegan, Chris Langham, Nimmy March, Geraldine McNulty, Melinda Messenger, Ann Mitchell, Mark Monero, Patsy Palmer, Sue Perkins, Su Pollard (playing Heidi Honeycombe, greeted by Linda with Heidi! Hi!, a reference to Hi-de-Hi!), Rowland Rivron, Zita Sattar, David Schneider, Christopher Simon, Sophie Stanton, Ronan Vibert, Dale Winton, and The Pink Singers.

Episodes

Gimme Gimme Gimme broadcast three series and 19 episodes in total. The first series premiered on BBC Two on 8 January 1999 and lasted six episodes, concluding on 12 February 1999. A Millennium special was screened on 29 December 1999. The second series commenced on 14 January 2000 and finished on 18 February 2000, again including six episodes. A short sketch for Comic Relief was broadcast on 16 March 2001. Due to high viewing figures, the show moved to BBC One for a six-episode third series, which was the last. Each episode was written by Jonathan Harvey; the first two series and the special were directed by Liddy Oldroyd, and the third series by Tristram Shapeero.

Home media

The entire run of Gimme Gimme Gimme was issued on VHS and Region 2 DVD in the UK through Video Vision Ltd. and Universal Home Entertainment, both as separate series sets and a full box set. The initial DVD releases came out on the same dates as their VHS counterparts. In Australia, only the first two series saw a Region 4 release, but those discs match the UK versions exactly. A later Region 2 reissue came from Universal’s subsidiary, Universal Playback. The show was available to stream on BBC iPlayer for a full year starting in November 2020, and then joined BritBox in December 2022.