The Fattest Man in Britain
Encyclopedia
The Fattest Man in Britain is a comedy-drama written by Caroline Aherne
and Jeff Pope
which aired on ITV
(ITV1
/STV/UTV
) on 20 December 2009. It starred Timothy Spall
, Bobby Ball
, Aisling Loftus
and Barry Austin
. The plot is loosely based on a real life event when Britain's then self-styled 'Fattest Man' Jack Taylor
was defeated in a 'weigh off' by Barry Austin
in the 2001 television documentary The Fattest Men in Britain.
) is the manager of Georgie Godwin (Timothy Spall
), the self-styled 'Fattest Man In Britain'. Morrissey feeds Georgie who hasn't left his house and stays in watching Jeremy Kyle shows
and programmes about distant places in the world, which he marks off on a globe. He relies on Morrissey and Janice (Frances Barber
) to provide him with everything he needs to live. Georgie's garden is overgrown after 23 years of neglect, and Social Services send a community service worker to clean the garden, which Georgie is not too sure about. When the community service worker turns up, it is 18-year-old Amy (Aisling Loftus
). While Amy pulls weeds, cuts the grass and hedge and plants flowers, Georgie watches her and tells Janice what she's done that day. One day while Amy is working in the garden, her boyfriend Joe turns up and shouts and pushes her. Seeing this, Georgie bangs on the window and Joe hurriedly leaves. Amy goes inside and Georgie offers her various types of chocolate but Amy says she is pregnant to which Georgie replies "If you're as good as a mother as you are with my garden, you're gonna be a great mum". One night while Morris and Janice are round Georgie's, Amy turns up with cuts on her face and says her drug addict boyfriend Joe kicked and punched her. Georgie says Amy can stay at his, in his Mum's old room. In return (and because she sees Georgie as a father figure), Amy cooks his dinner, cuts his hair and redecorates the house.
As time goes on, Amy dislikes the way people "disrespect" Georgie and offers to cook him low fat meals, but Georgie tells her that Morris takes care of that. It comes to a head when, after coming back from seeing rival manager Morley Raisin (Tim Woodward
) Morrissey tells Georgie that there's going to be a live weigh-off between him and rival 'Big Brian' (Barry Austin
). But Amy says they should be helping Georgie to lose weight, not gain it and is told it has nothing to do with her by Morrissey.
After being given fatty foods by his friends and neighbours to 'bulk' him up ready for the 'weigh off', Georgie comes to believe he is the 'fattest man in Britain'. But during the live weigh-off, Georgie weighs 42 stone while Big Brian weighs 54 stone. After the weigh-off, Georgie tells Amy that without the title of 'Britain's fattest man' he's 'just another fat man'.
Amy goes into labour and Georgie calls 999 but falls over while trying to get her bag. Whilst on the floor Amy and Georgie sing Moon River
in a bid to comfort Amy as he is unable to get up. The next day, still lying on the floor, Janice rings Georgie and tells him that Amy lost the baby and that it was a boy.
When Janice goes round to Georgie's, she is unable to get him up and rings 999. While waiting for the fire brigade, Georgie tells Janice they need to record all the Jeremy Kyle
shows so Amy can rest when she gets back, but Janice gives Georgie a letter from Amy. After being helped up by the fire brigade, Georgie reads the letter in which Amy says she won't be coming back because she can't bear to watch Georgie eat himself to death and also adds that she had called the baby 'Georgie'.
Georgie stops eating altogether (unlike when his Mum died, where he didn't stop eating). He is visited by Father O'Flaherty (Brendan O'Carroll
) who bluntly tells him to lose weight. When Morrissey goes round, Georgie tells him it's over because he's not 'Britains biggest man' but Morrissey sobs that Georgie has always been 'Britain's fattest man' to him. While looking at the mess in the garden, Georgie gets up and, for the first time in 23 years, leaves the house and starts walking to the hairdressing salon where Amy now works. On the way, Georgie is stared and shouted at. When Amy sees him, they reconcile.
The drama ends with Morrissey driving a batch of tourists, saying they are going to see 'Britain's Greatest Weight Loser' and shows a smiling, slim Georgie getting out of a hairdresser's chair where Amy has cut his hair.
Studios production for ITV1
. The drama was commissioned by Commissioning Editor of Comedy at ITV. Michaela Hennessy-Vass. The Executive Producer was Saurabh Kakkar. It was directed by David Blair and produced by Jeff Pope
.
The drama's soundtrack
was by Manchester
-based artist Badly Drawn Boy
, who wrote and recorded new tracks exclusively for the drama. He has released an album, Is There Nothing We Could Do?
, which is inspired by his music for the film, his first release since his Born in the U.K.
album in 2006.
Caroline Aherne
Caroline Mary Aherne is an English comedian and BAFTA winning writer and actress, best known for Mrs Merton and The Royle Family.- Background :...
and Jeff Pope
Jeff Pope
Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film Pierrepoint and the television drama The Fattest Man in Britain and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama See No Evil: The Moors Murders. He is also the Head of ITV Productions Factual Drama.Pope's first media job...
which aired on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
(ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
/STV/UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
) on 20 December 2009. It starred Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
, Bobby Ball
Bobby Ball
Bobby Ball is one half of the comedy double act Cannon and Ball, along with Tommy Cannon.He married his first wife, Joan, in 1964, with whom he had two sons, Robert and Darren , who are now a comedy double act in their own right, performing under their surname 'Harper'. Bobby and his first wife...
, Aisling Loftus
Aisling Loftus
Aisling Loftus is an English actress. She is the daughter of Irish parents, Paddy and Eileen, and has an older sister, Aoife....
and Barry Austin
Barry Austin
Barry Austin , of Solihull, West Midlands, England is a man widely reputed to be the heaviest man in the United Kingdom.Multiple press reports claim that at his peak weight, he weighed 50 stone ....
. The plot is loosely based on a real life event when Britain's then self-styled 'Fattest Man' Jack Taylor
Jack Taylor (heavyweight man)
Jack Taylor was the fattest man in Great Britain.He weighed and had to wear specially made trousers of waist. He became all but a recluse, spending his days simply eating and watching videos, and venturing outside exclusively for hospital appointments...
was defeated in a 'weigh off' by Barry Austin
Barry Austin
Barry Austin , of Solihull, West Midlands, England is a man widely reputed to be the heaviest man in the United Kingdom.Multiple press reports claim that at his peak weight, he weighed 50 stone ....
in the 2001 television documentary The Fattest Men in Britain.
Synopsis
Taxi-driver Morris Morrissey (Bobby BallBobby Ball
Bobby Ball is one half of the comedy double act Cannon and Ball, along with Tommy Cannon.He married his first wife, Joan, in 1964, with whom he had two sons, Robert and Darren , who are now a comedy double act in their own right, performing under their surname 'Harper'. Bobby and his first wife...
) is the manager of Georgie Godwin (Timothy Spall
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
), the self-styled 'Fattest Man In Britain'. Morrissey feeds Georgie who hasn't left his house and stays in watching Jeremy Kyle shows
The Jeremy Kyle Show
The Jeremy Kyle Show is an award-winning British daytime television tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle that has been broadcast on ITV since 4 July 2005. The show is recorded and produced by Granada Television at the Granada Studios on Quay Street in Manchester city centre and broadcast each...
and programmes about distant places in the world, which he marks off on a globe. He relies on Morrissey and Janice (Frances Barber
Frances Barber
Frances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
) to provide him with everything he needs to live. Georgie's garden is overgrown after 23 years of neglect, and Social Services send a community service worker to clean the garden, which Georgie is not too sure about. When the community service worker turns up, it is 18-year-old Amy (Aisling Loftus
Aisling Loftus
Aisling Loftus is an English actress. She is the daughter of Irish parents, Paddy and Eileen, and has an older sister, Aoife....
). While Amy pulls weeds, cuts the grass and hedge and plants flowers, Georgie watches her and tells Janice what she's done that day. One day while Amy is working in the garden, her boyfriend Joe turns up and shouts and pushes her. Seeing this, Georgie bangs on the window and Joe hurriedly leaves. Amy goes inside and Georgie offers her various types of chocolate but Amy says she is pregnant to which Georgie replies "If you're as good as a mother as you are with my garden, you're gonna be a great mum". One night while Morris and Janice are round Georgie's, Amy turns up with cuts on her face and says her drug addict boyfriend Joe kicked and punched her. Georgie says Amy can stay at his, in his Mum's old room. In return (and because she sees Georgie as a father figure), Amy cooks his dinner, cuts his hair and redecorates the house.
As time goes on, Amy dislikes the way people "disrespect" Georgie and offers to cook him low fat meals, but Georgie tells her that Morris takes care of that. It comes to a head when, after coming back from seeing rival manager Morley Raisin (Tim Woodward
Tim Woodward
-Biography:Woodward was born in London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Mary Barrett.He is probably best known for his roles in the 1970s BBC drama Wings, the 1990s ITV soap opera Families and the 2000s ITV police drama Murder City...
) Morrissey tells Georgie that there's going to be a live weigh-off between him and rival 'Big Brian' (Barry Austin
Barry Austin
Barry Austin , of Solihull, West Midlands, England is a man widely reputed to be the heaviest man in the United Kingdom.Multiple press reports claim that at his peak weight, he weighed 50 stone ....
). But Amy says they should be helping Georgie to lose weight, not gain it and is told it has nothing to do with her by Morrissey.
After being given fatty foods by his friends and neighbours to 'bulk' him up ready for the 'weigh off', Georgie comes to believe he is the 'fattest man in Britain'. But during the live weigh-off, Georgie weighs 42 stone while Big Brian weighs 54 stone. After the weigh-off, Georgie tells Amy that without the title of 'Britain's fattest man' he's 'just another fat man'.
"When I went out I’d always get the same… ‘Michelin Man’ or ‘Mr Wobbly’ or F**kin’ Fat Twat’. I heard ‘em… And then along came Morris with his enthusiasm and panache. And suddenly people were paying to come and see me, all right, mainly foreigners, but I didn’t have to be ashamed of me size no more – do you see?
So that’s why that title is so important to me: The Fattest Man in Britain. Because if I’m not the fattest, Amy, then what am I, eh? Just a fat man, Amy."
Amy goes into labour and Georgie calls 999 but falls over while trying to get her bag. Whilst on the floor Amy and Georgie sing Moon River
Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists...
in a bid to comfort Amy as he is unable to get up. The next day, still lying on the floor, Janice rings Georgie and tells him that Amy lost the baby and that it was a boy.
When Janice goes round to Georgie's, she is unable to get him up and rings 999. While waiting for the fire brigade, Georgie tells Janice they need to record all the Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle is an English radio and television presenter, best known for his British daytime television chat show on ITV, The Jeremy Kyle Show. Kyle is also the host of an American talk show of the same name that premiered on 19 September 2011.-Radio career:From 1986 to 1995, Kyle worked as a...
shows so Amy can rest when she gets back, but Janice gives Georgie a letter from Amy. After being helped up by the fire brigade, Georgie reads the letter in which Amy says she won't be coming back because she can't bear to watch Georgie eat himself to death and also adds that she had called the baby 'Georgie'.
Georgie stops eating altogether (unlike when his Mum died, where he didn't stop eating). He is visited by Father O'Flaherty (Brendan O'Carroll
Brendan O'Carroll
Brendan O'Carroll is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and director. Best known for portraying the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch Mrs. Brown, O'Carroll has been a popular comedian in Ireland since the early 1990s.-Early life:...
) who bluntly tells him to lose weight. When Morrissey goes round, Georgie tells him it's over because he's not 'Britains biggest man' but Morrissey sobs that Georgie has always been 'Britain's fattest man' to him. While looking at the mess in the garden, Georgie gets up and, for the first time in 23 years, leaves the house and starts walking to the hairdressing salon where Amy now works. On the way, Georgie is stared and shouted at. When Amy sees him, they reconcile.
The drama ends with Morrissey driving a batch of tourists, saying they are going to see 'Britain's Greatest Weight Loser' and shows a smiling, slim Georgie getting out of a hairdresser's chair where Amy has cut his hair.
Production details
The Fattest Man in Britain was an ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Studios production for ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
. The drama was commissioned by Commissioning Editor of Comedy at ITV. Michaela Hennessy-Vass. The Executive Producer was Saurabh Kakkar. It was directed by David Blair and produced by Jeff Pope
Jeff Pope
Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film Pierrepoint and the television drama The Fattest Man in Britain and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama See No Evil: The Moors Murders. He is also the Head of ITV Productions Factual Drama.Pope's first media job...
.
The drama's soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was by Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
-based artist Badly Drawn Boy
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
, who wrote and recorded new tracks exclusively for the drama. He has released an album, Is There Nothing We Could Do?
Is There Nothing We Could Do?
Is There Nothing We Could Do? is the sixth studio album by Badly Drawn Boy, released in 2009. It contains music inspired by the television film The Fattest Man in Britain.-Track listing:#"Opening Theme" – 1:55...
, which is inspired by his music for the film, his first release since his Born in the U.K.
Born in the U.K.
Born in the U.K. is the fifth album released by singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy, real name Damon Gough, released on 16 October 2006. The album's title is a reference to Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 album Born in the U.S.A....
album in 2006.
Cast
- Timothy SpallTimothy SpallTimothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
- Georgie Godwin - Bobby BallBobby BallBobby Ball is one half of the comedy double act Cannon and Ball, along with Tommy Cannon.He married his first wife, Joan, in 1964, with whom he had two sons, Robert and Darren , who are now a comedy double act in their own right, performing under their surname 'Harper'. Bobby and his first wife...
- Morris Morrissey - Frances BarberFrances BarberFrances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
- Janice - Aisling LoftusAisling LoftusAisling Loftus is an English actress. She is the daughter of Irish parents, Paddy and Eileen, and has an older sister, Aoife....
- Amy - Barry AustinBarry AustinBarry Austin , of Solihull, West Midlands, England is a man widely reputed to be the heaviest man in the United Kingdom.Multiple press reports claim that at his peak weight, he weighed 50 stone ....
- Big Brian - David Williams - Mad Bob
- Archie Lal - Raj
- Richard Riddell - Joe
- Brendan O'CarrollBrendan O'CarrollBrendan O'Carroll is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and director. Best known for portraying the foul-mouthed Irish matriarch Mrs. Brown, O'Carroll has been a popular comedian in Ireland since the early 1990s.-Early life:...
- Fr O'Flaherty - Alice Barry - Joyce
- Tim WoodwardTim Woodward-Biography:Woodward was born in London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Mary Barrett.He is probably best known for his roles in the 1970s BBC drama Wings, the 1990s ITV soap opera Families and the 2000s ITV police drama Murder City...
- Morley Raisin - Mark Chatterton - Richard Barter
- Julian Walsh - Clive
- Akira Koieyama - Japanese man
- Yuriri Naka - Japanese woman
- Claire Ashforth - Newsreader
- Liz Hume-Dawson - Woman