Two Fat Ladies

Two Fat Ladies is a BBC2 television cooking programme starring Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson. It originally ran for four series, from 9 October 1996 to 28 September 1999, being produced by Optomen Television for the BBC. Since then, the show has been repeated frequently on the Food Network and Cooking Channel in the US and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia. In the UK, the show has been transmitted many times on the satellite channel Good Food.

Two Fat Ladies
Starring	Clarissa Dickson Wright Jennifer Paterson
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	24
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Optomen Television for BBC
Distributor	All3Media
Release
Original network	BBC2
Original release	9 October 1996 (1996-10-09) – 28 September 1999 (1999-09-28)

Programme

The show centred on Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson, travelling the United Kingdom for most of the episodes, except for one episode in Ireland and a Christmas special in Jamaica, on a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle driven by Paterson. It sported the registration N88 TFL (the British bingo call for number 88 is "Two Fat Ladies") and had a Watsonian Jubilee[1] GP-700 "doublewide" sidecar where Dickson Wright rode. They travelled to various destinations, such as an army garrison and an all-girls' school, where they prepared large meals, often with unusual ingredients.

Paterson's uncle, Anthony Bartlett, was Gentiluomo to the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, and so one episode was videotaped at Westminster Cathedral and another at an Irish convent. While cooking at Westminster Cathedral, Paterson cooked an original dish, Peaches Cardinal Hume.[2] In the same episode, Dickson Wright demonstrated a bubble and squeak recipe[3] which used two ounces of lard, which she insisted is the only fat besides beef dripping that could ever get hot enough to produce the recipe as it should be produced. Similarly, her recipe for buttered spatchcock saw chickens covered with a thick layer of butter, bread and more butter on top of the bread. Recipes such as this led to criticism by some who considered them to be a bad influence on the British diet.[4]

Optomen Television had this to say, as if in reply to their critics: "The Ladies are cooks not chefs - they reject the pretensions and elaborations of haute cuisine and are aggressively unfashionable, delighting in such ingredients as clotted cream, lard and fatty meats."[1]

Theme song

Paterson and Dickson Wright sang their own theme song written by composer Pete Baikie, and Paterson often burst into song during the show, once introducing apple pan dowdy with a verse from the song "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" (erroneously attributing the song to The Andrews Sisters). They revelled in cooking at grand locations, as at Lennoxlove House near Edinburgh.

Deaths

Paterson died of lung cancer on 10 August 1999, one month after diagnosis. The day before she died, she asked Dickson Wright to bring her a tin of caviar but when Dickson Wright arrived at the hospital, Paterson had already died. Dickson Wright said that after Paterson's funeral, she ate the caviar as a tribute to her friend.[5] Dickson Wright died in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on 15 March 2014.[6]

In popular culture

• The show was parodied on Royal Canadian Air Farce as "One Fat Lady" with the late John Morgan as Dickson Wright making a fatty and sugary treat consisting of goose fat, lard, a packet of Sugar Twin and blackstrap molasses.
• In 1997, The Two Ronnies made a comeback as a duo dressed The "Two Fat Ladies" on the Royal Command Performance that year, making their stage entrance on a motorcycle and sidecar.
• A February 1999 episode of Saturday Night Live aired a sketch that parodied Two Fat Ladies. Brendan Fraser and Darrell Hammond played them, as they cooked dishes sautéed in pure buttermilk (which is, in reality, quite low in fat, <1%).[7]
• In Season 2, Episode 14 of Gilmore Girls Rory and Lorelai are watching repeats of Two Fat Ladies.[8]

Cookbooks

"The Two Fat Ladies" produced four cookbooks which accompanied each of the four television series. In order: Two Fat Ladies: Gastronomic Adventures (with Motorbike and Sidecar), The Two Fat Ladies Ride Again, The Two Fat Ladies: Full Throttle and Two Fat Ladies Obsessions.[9]

DVD release

The Two Fat Ladies DVD set was released in the United States in July 2008. The Acorn Media UK set includes a 40-minute BBC tribute to Paterson, biographies of the stars and "six yummo recipes" in a booklet. It contains all 24 episodes across four discs. The show had previously been released in Britain as a Region 2 DVD set.[10]

Episode list

Series 1

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's dishes	Jennifer's dishes	Air date
1	Fish & Shellfish	The Shark's Fin Hotel Mevagissey, Cornwall	Crab, corn & coriander fritter Gigot of monkfish with rosemary and anchovies	Fish pie Scallops with leeks	9 October 1996
2	Meat	Westonbirt School Gloucestershire	Beef à la Will Moreland Chicken breasts with walnut aillade	Roast "Hedgehog" (meatloaf) A.N.'s slow shoulder of lamb	16 October 1996
3	Fruit & Vegetables	Westminster Cathedral London	Bubble and squeak Stuffed artichokes	Tomato summer pudding Beanz meanz Fitz Peaches Cardinal Hume	23 October 1996
4	Cakes	Hallaton, Leicestershire	Ginger bread Danish apple & prune cake	Galette des Rois aux amandes Chopped walnut & coffee cake	30 October 1996
5	Game	Lennoxlove House East Lothian	Partridges with cabbage Pheasant and pickled walnut terrine Duntreath roast grouse	Rabbit with anchovies and capers Medallions of venison with blackberries	6 November 1996
6	Food in the Wild	Hawkhirst Scout Camp Kielder Forest, Northumberland	Muttachar (spiced eggs) Onion soup with Stilton Trout from the Luau	Shooter's sandwich Frittata with tomatoes, onions & basil	13 November 1996

Series 2

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's dishes	Jennifer's dishes	Air date
1	Cocktail Party	The Brazilian Embassy Mayfair, London	Blini (with sour cream and caviar) Prawns in mackintoshes (Gambas in gabardinas) Brazilian bean fritters (Acarajé)	Portuguese cod cakes (Bolinhos de bacalhau) Devils on horseback	29 September 1997
2	Lunch	Vintage motorcycle rally Hesket New Market, Cumbria	Clam chowder Robert May's salmon	Loin of pork stuffed with cèpes or truffles Chantal's stuffed tomatoes	6 October 1997
3	Picnic	Male choir in Llandudno	Welsh lamb pie Mitton of pork	Tartine from Provence Crème vichyssoise glacée	13 October 1997
4	Afternoon Tea	A cricket match Warborough, Oxfordshire	Queen Alexandra's favourite sandwiches Rigo Jancsi's chocolate slices	Gentleman's savoury delights (shortcrust) Fresh fruit tartlets	20 October 1997
5	Breakfast	Black Sheep Brewery Masham, North Yorkshire	Corn griddle cakes Huevos rancheros	Devilled kidneys Kedgeree Jugged kippers	27 October 1997
6	Dinner	1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles Aldershot, Queen Elizabeth Barracks, Church Crookham	Turbot with watercress and pickled walnuts Beef with chestnuts, pears and almonds	Coq au vin Stuffed quail with white wine	3 November 1997
Special	Christmas	Winchester Cathedral Choir The Pilgrims' School, Winchester, Hampshire	Swedish red cabbage Christmas pudding ice cream bombe	Mousse of the egg Roast goose with pate and prune stuffing	24 December 1997

Series 3

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's dishes	Jennifer's dishes	Air date	Viewers (millions)
1	Benedictine Nuns	Kylemore Abbey Connemara, Ireland	Broad beans with dill Tomato tartlets	Lobster and mayonnaise Raspberry and strawberry shortcake	2 September 1998	3.85
2	Pony Club	The Cotswolds, Gloucestershire	Pork with clams Chocolate crème brulée	Welsh rarebit soufflé Pete's Pommy Pommes	9 September 1998	4.31
3	The Cambridge Eight	Boat club Cambridge University	Rabbit Isabel Asturian bean and sausage soup	Peas with lettuce Cheese and honey pie	16 September 1998	4.63
4	Barristers at Lincoln's Inn	London	Swiss chard with garlic and anchovies Salmon mousse with cucumber sauce	Beef in pastry Strawberry Breasts	23 September 1998	3.36
5	The Air Race	East Fortune Airfield, Scotland	Venison Pastie Chocolate egg snowballs	Roasted salmon with scallops in a mustard butter sauce Red peppers stuffed with aubergine purée	30 September 1998	4.21
6	Lock Keepers	Grindley Brook, Shropshire	Burnett's Woodcock Quercyan apple cake	Soused herrings Hoppin' John	7 October 1998	4.35
Special	A Caribbean Christmas	Chukka Cove Polo Club Good Hope Country House, Jamaica	Rice and peas Jerked suckling pig	Pumpkin Soup Spiced bun Rum Punch	22 December 1998	3.34

Series 4

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's dishes	Jennifer's dishes	Air date	Viewers (millions)
1	Potatoes Galore	Jersey	Portuguese fish stew Chocolate Pye	Boeuf Stroganoff Crème Pierre le Grand (chicken soup)	7 September 1999	2.27
2	On Safari	Knowsley Safari Park Lancashire	Devilled Poussin Chillis stuffed with goat cheese, and tomato salsa	Lamb in filo pastry Apple pandowdy	14 September 1999	2.87
3	Timber!	Ardnamurchan peninsula	Watercress mousse Trout baked in sea salt with beurre blanc	Poule au pot Grilled peaches and cream	21 September 1999	3.05
4	A Day at the Races	Floors Castle, Kelso St. Abbs, Northumberland	Green beans with Roman mustard Barmbrack with rhubarb	Hot buttered crab Stuffed baked codfish with a tomato sauce	28 September 1999	3.37

• Production of Series 4 was cut short by the death of Jennifer Paterson shortly after completion of the fourth episode.

References

1. "Two Fat Ladies". Optomen International. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
2. "Healthy Recipes". tipsions.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
3. "BUBBLE AND SQUEAK (Two Fat Ladies)". RecipeSource. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
4. Farndale, Nigel (13 September 2009). "Clarissa Dickson Wright: 'They don't call me Krakatoa for nothing'". Telegraph. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
5. "UK | Two Fat Ladies star dies". BBC News. 10 August 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
6. "BBC News - TV cook Clarissa Dickson Wright dies". Bbc.co.uk. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
7. "SNL Transcripts: Brendan Fraser: 02/13/99". Snltranscripts.jt.org. 13 February 1999. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
8. TV.com. "Gilmore Girls Episode Guides".
9. "Amazon.co.uk: two fat ladies: Books". www.amazon.co.uk.
10. "New DVDs: 'Two Fat Ladies,' in full - DVD Spin Doctor". Dvdspindoctor.typepad.com. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2014.

External links

• Two Fat Ladies on IMDb
• Two Fat Ladies at TV.com
• Two Fat Ladies at Cooking Channel