Nan's Christmas Carol
Encyclopedia
Nan's Christmas Carol is a spin-off of The Catherine Tate Show
. The one-off special based on Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
is about Nan visited by three ghosts on Christmas night in her council flat.
) and an old friend whom she does the lottery with. This doesn't please her, but she doesn't buy the lottery and she keeps it in a jar for herself to save. "Northern Bob", his family and their dog, Tim, are hoping to stay for the night and have Christmas dinner with Joannie. They give her an alternative Christmas present by making a donation in her name to the Mobile Library of Sudan. She eventually throws them out.
In the night, the ghost of Jake Taylor, her deceased husband, comes through her closet to tell her she'll be visited by three more ghosts.
) who is really rubbish at his haunting tricks.
He takes her to her house when she was a little girl. They see her mother putting her to bed to be ready for Father Christmas
. She leaves him out a mince pie and a glass of milk. In the morning Father Christmas left the younger Joannie a tangerine. She opens her mouth and "Nan" is born. Then he takes Joannie to the 1950s when she sees she and Jake failing to arrange a date together. Then he takes her to the 1960s where Joannie and Jake are very unhappily married.
). He comes on with his mobile playing the "Ghostbusters Theme
", which doesn't impress Nan.
He shows her "Northern Bob" and his family living in the streets having crisps for their Christmas dinner, which chokes Tim to death.
He takes her to the following year where she sees her lottery friend's numbers coming up. She pretends to go into the convenience store to get the money, but she comes back out and gives them £1 each, claiming that there were thousands of winners but it turns out that she has the rest of the money and the other ladies chase her down the street. Jamie has a baby son by his German wife, Stephanie, but doesn't invite Nan to the christening as he wants her to have nothing to do with the baby. She ends up living in a home where nobody comes up to see her, and everyone hates her. At her funeral, nobody turns up except Jamie, Stephanie and their son, who don't pay any attention at all. The Ghost explains to Nan that if she does not change her ways, she will spend the remainder of her life alone. Nan wakes up the following morning in her flat.
".
When everyone is in bed, she picks up a packet of crisps and shouts for Tim and offers one to him implying she hasn't changed at all.
The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
. The one-off special based on Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
is about Nan visited by three ghosts on Christmas night in her council flat.
The Beginning
Jamie comes to visit Nan in her council flat, only to find she's been sitting in the dark with the heating off to save money. She is visited by some carollers (played by MadnessMadness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
) and an old friend whom she does the lottery with. This doesn't please her, but she doesn't buy the lottery and she keeps it in a jar for herself to save. "Northern Bob", his family and their dog, Tim, are hoping to stay for the night and have Christmas dinner with Joannie. They give her an alternative Christmas present by making a donation in her name to the Mobile Library of Sudan. She eventually throws them out.
In the night, the ghost of Jake Taylor, her deceased husband, comes through her closet to tell her she'll be visited by three more ghosts.
Christmas Past
The first ghost she's visited by is the Ghost of Christmas Past (Ben MillerBen Miller
Bennet Evan "Ben" Miller is an English comedian, actor and director. He is perhaps best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller, along with Alexander Armstrong. Together the pair wrote and starred in Channel 4 sketch show Armstrong and Miller, and the more recent BBC television...
) who is really rubbish at his haunting tricks.
He takes her to her house when she was a little girl. They see her mother putting her to bed to be ready for Father Christmas
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...
. She leaves him out a mince pie and a glass of milk. In the morning Father Christmas left the younger Joannie a tangerine. She opens her mouth and "Nan" is born. Then he takes Joannie to the 1950s when she sees she and Jake failing to arrange a date together. Then he takes her to the 1960s where Joannie and Jake are very unhappily married.
Christmas Present
The next ghost to appear is the Ghost of Christmas Present (David TennantDavid Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
). He comes on with his mobile playing the "Ghostbusters Theme
Ghostbusters (song)
"Ghostbusters" is a 1984 song recorded by Ray Parker, Jr. as the theme to the film of the same name starring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 11 in 1984, and stayed there for three weeks...
", which doesn't impress Nan.
He shows her "Northern Bob" and his family living in the streets having crisps for their Christmas dinner, which chokes Tim to death.
Christmas Future
The last ghost to visit her is the Ghost of Christmas Future (Roger Lloyd-Pack) who appears in an advert on her TV, which again doesn't impress her.He takes her to the following year where she sees her lottery friend's numbers coming up. She pretends to go into the convenience store to get the money, but she comes back out and gives them £1 each, claiming that there were thousands of winners but it turns out that she has the rest of the money and the other ladies chase her down the street. Jamie has a baby son by his German wife, Stephanie, but doesn't invite Nan to the christening as he wants her to have nothing to do with the baby. She ends up living in a home where nobody comes up to see her, and everyone hates her. At her funeral, nobody turns up except Jamie, Stephanie and their son, who don't pay any attention at all. The Ghost explains to Nan that if she does not change her ways, she will spend the remainder of her life alone. Nan wakes up the following morning in her flat.
The End
She tells Jamie to get to the convenience store to buy her stuff for a Christmas banquet. She invites Bob and the family (and lets them stay for the night), and her Lottery friends. The carollers come back and sing "Baggy TrousersBaggy Trousers
"Baggy Trousers" is a song by English ska/pop band Madness from their 1980 album Absolutely. It was written by lead singer Suggs and guitarist Chris Foreman, and reminisces on school days....
".
When everyone is in bed, she picks up a packet of crisps and shouts for Tim and offers one to him implying she hasn't changed at all.
See also
- The Catherine Tate ShowThe Catherine Tate ShowThe Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
- A Christmas CarolA Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
- List of A Christmas Carol adaptations
- Joannie TaylorJoannie TaylorJoannie "Nan" Taylor is a fictional character in The Catherine Tate Show. She is one of the main characters of the show and is portrayed by Catherine Tate.-The Catherine Tate Show:...