Fat Friends
Fat Friends was an ITV drama, following a group of overweight people, their laughter and pain and addresses the absurdities of dieting in our modern age. The drama looks at people and how they relate to one another and use body weight as an excuse for all sorts of failings in their relationships, or not living their lives to the full. Four of the cast, Ruth Jones, James Corden, Sheridan Smith and Alison Steadman, went on to appear in Gavin & Stacey.
We meet the group as they struggle back from a Spanish hotel they won as a result of their appearance on Trisha. Betty can't wait to get home, so intent is she on seeing her son Simon.
Kelly starts to moan about Betty's friendship with her long-lost son and she starts to mistreat Kev. She is then tempted by Max. As Kev gets a new assistant in the chip shop. Will Kelly be able to hold it together with her new fitness coach Max?
Norma throws herself into pensioner speed dating and after two glasses of wine decides to advertise herself on the local radio lonely hearts phone-in. It's not long before a queue of eligible men has formed around the block but it's the dashing Eddie who captures her heart. Bowling, dancing and romancing ensue and soon a weekend in Filey is on the cards. But is Eddie all he seems?
We focus on Jamie this week, Claire and her little girl have moved in with him. But are her feelings of sickness more then just a dodgy curry? The barmaid at Woody's seems to know the answer and so much more as she doesn't even know Claire by that name. Rebecca suspects the truth but keeps her mouth shut until it's to late.Claire is then hit by a car resulting in her death and Jamie decides to fight for custody of Claire's daughter.
The friends head off for a free weekend at a health spa. Carol has done a dodgy deal as all of a sudden the friends are booked for a photo shoot, some parts are ok yet others are a little bit revealing. Max and Carol flirt with each other what ends up a little bit more then they both suspected, Carol then finds out about Max's past and decides not to go with him. They end up together at the end of the episode. While Lauren has decided that this is her perfect chance to get beautified before the wedding, and Norma seems more intent on eating the fruit then wearing it.
Lauren's wedding day approaches. She's always being the skinniest of the bunch but not without problems. Having found her dream man in Vicar, Paul, she also gets a shot at fame as a weathergirl. Only Paul seems jealous of her success, while her parents refuse to come to the wedding. She's got a fabulous frock and a man willing to make a sacrifice for her, but will there be a happy ending?
It's Christmas Eve, and the Count with Carol gang are appearing live on Trisha to debate the pros and cons of dieting - but the talk turns to something altogether more interesting when Betty inadvertently blurts out to the entire viewing nation that she has a secret son. To add to her problems, she also discovers that husband Douglas hasn't been entirely honest about the family's income. Little does she know, however, that her TV appearance will bring her an unexpected gift - one she's been waiting for most of her life.
Things go from bad to worse for Kelly. Still trying to deal with the news of her mum's past, problems start to occur in her marriage resulting in her sleeping with her husband, Kevin's gay brother and when all is revealed things get even worse for Kelly especially when Kelly finds out she's pregnant but the main question is who is the father?
Carol faces problems this week when she realises she has fallen for fitness instructor Max which ends up causing problems with her teenage son.
Lauren has the chance to make all her acting dreams come true - but at the price of losing everything and everybody that matters. Can she get back her friends when she needs them most?
Rebecca decides it is time to leave home. Her boyfriend Sean is keen to help with the move, but her break for independence is short-lived when tragedy strikes and Norma needs support.
In the final episode of the 3rd series Jamie's love life picks up when he falls for a beautiful woman who falls for him too but when obstacles fall in their place like the fact she has a daughter and an ex-prisoner ex-boyfriend will things turn out for the best for the Jamie. The gang also head back to the Trisha show for their final weigh in while Jamie provides the food, Kelly gives birth to a baby boy.
Carol faces her own problems this week when her husband leaves her leaving her alone with her son and things then turn a horrible twist when Carol decides to go on a diet.
Birthday blues are the least of Val's problems. Mistrust, jealousy and insecurity turn her world upside down after she confronts her male escort lover about what he gets up to with his clients.
The arrival of divorce papers send bus driver Alan's blood pressure rocketing, with the result that he fails a medical and loses his job.
Lonely teenager Jamie thinks his fortunes have changed when he makes the acquaintance of second-hand car dealer Craig. He spends his 17th-birthday money on flash clothes and a mobile phone in a desperate bid to fit in with Craig's crowd, but soon realises his new friend is a shady operator with a criminal past - can his policeman father help him cut his ties with the villain?
Despite being overweight, Rebecca Patterson is generally content with life - particularly as her job as the assistant manager at a garden centre allows her to work alongside the man she secretly adores. But the shy and retiring twentysomething's cosy world is shattered by the return of a figure from her past, who proceeds to subject her to cruel psychological tortures
Betty Simpson's already stressful life takes another twist when her childhood sweetheart joins the slimming club, prompting the return of long-suppressed feelings and revelations about a dark secret from her past.
In the final episode of the 2nd series Kelly is still longing for a baby and her and Kevin are still trying like mad but is there more to their baby making problems than meets the eye.
Kelly Simpson is determined to get in her two sizes two small wedding dress in time for her big day meanwhile at the slimming club her mum Betty has won through to the regional finals of Superslimmers 2000 even though her husband isn't that happy about her losing weight.
Alan Ashburn is losing weight for his 20th wedding anniversary celebrations but a romantic meal out with his wife ends in their relationship falling apart.
Actress Lauren Harris has won herself a part in a soap she is convinced that losing five pounds would make her a better actress, she is also having problems with her mum who is convinced she is anorexic and her boyfriend Gareth whose nickname for her is pudding.
15 year old member of Superslimmers Jamie reveals the reasons for his depressed state - his mother is battling with depression and he is being teased at school, he eventually decides he can't cope with the pressure of it all and contemplates suicide.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Release | 2000-10-12 |
| Producer |