Fat Friends

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, the series explores the lives of several slimming club members, with a focus on the various ways their weight has impacted upon them.

Fat Friends
GenreDrama
Created byKay Mellor
Written byKay Mellor
Gaynor Faye
Debbie Oats
Jayne Daniels
StarringAlison Steadman
Gaynor Faye
Ruth Jones
James Corden
Janet Dibley
Kathryn Hunt
Lisa Riley
Lynda Baron
Composer(s)Mark Russell
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series4
No. of episodes25
Production
Running time60 minutes (per episode)
Production company(s)Rollem Productions
Tiger Aspect Productions
Yorkshire Television
Release
Original networkITV
Picture format16:9 (576i)
Audio formatStereo
Original release12 October 2000 (2000-10-12) –
24 March 2005 (2005-03-24)
Midgley's fish and chip shop in Moor Grange, Leeds featured as 'Big and Battered'

The series was created by Kay Mellor and made by Rollem Productions in association with Tiger Aspect Productions and Yorkshire Television. Four of the cast — Tom Rosenthal Simon Bird, Frances Cuka and Tamsin Greig— went on to appear in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey.

Premise

Fat Friends is set around a slimming club in the Headingley district of Leeds. The club is run by the formidable Carol (Janet Dibley), 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 and characters

Episodes
Series One
Episode Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Love Me Slender"David WheatleyKay Mellor12 October 2000 (2000-10-12)
2"Fat Chónce"David WheatleyKay Mellor19 October 2000 (2000-10-19)
3"Fat Free"David WheatleyKay Mellor26 October 2000 (2000-10-26)
4"Growing Pains"Audrey CookeKay Mellor2 November 2000 (2000-11-02)
5"Face the Fat"Audrey CookeKay Mellor9 November 2000 (2000-11-09)
6"When the Fat Lady Sings"Audrey CookeKay Mellor16 November 2000 (2000-11-16)
Series Two
Episode Title Directed by Written by Original air date
7"Full Belly"Audrey CookeKay Mellor5 September 2002 (2002-09-05)
8"Peaches and Dreams"Audrey CookeKay Mellor12 September 2002 (2002-09-12)
9"Forty and In-fat-urated"Tania DíezJayne Daniel & Kay Mellor19 September 2002 (2002-09-19)
10"Sweet and Sour"Dan ZeffKay Mellor26 September 2002 (2002-09-26)
11"Sticky Fingers"Dan ZeffGaynor Faye & Kay Mellor3 October 2002 (2002-10-03)
12"In Full Bloom"Tania DíezLisa Holdsworth & Kay Mellor10 October 2002 (2002-10-10)
13"Hunger Pangs"Audrey CookeKay Mellor17 October 2002 (2002-10-17)
Series Three
Episode Title Directed by Written by Original air date
14"Eat Your Heart Out"John DeeryKay Mellor1 January 2004 (2004-01-01)
15"Leggs Over Easy"John AndersonGaynor Faye & Kay Mellor7 January 2004 (2004-01-07)
16"Food for Thought"John AndersonGaynor Faye & Kay Mellor14 January 2004 (2004-01-14)
17"Bacon, Bagels and the Bishop"Lance KneeshawKatie Baxendale & Kay Mellor21 January 2004 (2004-01-21)
18"Afters"Lance KneeshawKay Mellor & Debbie Oates28 January 2004 (2004-01-28)
19"Food of Love"Lance KneeshawKatie Baxendale & Kay Mellor4 February 2004 (2004-02-04)
Series Four
Episode Title Directed by Written by Original air date
20"Enough to Go Around"John DeereKay Mellor17 February 2005 (2005-02-17)
21"Second Helpings"Lance KneeshawGaynor Faye & Kay Mellor24 February 2005 (2005-02-24)
22"Angel's Delight"Lance KneeshawRuth Jones & Kay Mellor3 March 2005 (2005-03-03)
23"Get Out of the Kitchen"Lance KneeshawGaynor Faye & Kay Mellor10 March 2005 (2005-03-10)
24"Healthy Options"John AndersonKay Mellor & Debbie Oates17 March 2005 (2005-03-17)
25"Icing on the Cake"John AndersonKay Mellor & Debbie Oates24 March 2005 (2005-03-24)

Ratings

Awards and nominations

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)

Stage musical adaptation
Grand Theatre in Leeds decorated for Fat Friends the Musical.

A stage musical adaptation of the series directed and written by original creator, Kay Mellor, with music by Nicholas Lloyd Webber made its world premiere at the Grand Theatre in Leeds on 7 November 2017 before embarking on a UK tour, starring Jodie Prenger as Kelly Stevenson.[1]

gollark: But there are an infinitely large number of possible gods, and some do weirder things like "punish/reward entirely at random", "have no interest whatsoever in humanity", "punish people who believe in other gods", and all that, and Pascal's Wager just *ignores* those.
gollark: Pascal's Wager might work if the only options are "no god" or "one god, and it's the one you believe in, and they'll reward you if you believe and punish you otherwise".
gollark: Also, I should be specific, "a god and associated religious claims", not just "a god".
gollark: Pascal's Wager is really stupid.
gollark: > I’d rather just have faith and get on with my lifeThis seems like a bizarre attitude, since if you... don't actually have evidence for a god at all... it's really weird for that belief to affect your decisions.

References
  1. "Jodie Prenger to star in Fat Friends The Musical premiere". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
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