Fat Friends

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 various backgrounds and of various weights. While some plots continue throughout all four series, each episode focuses on one particular character.

• Alison Steadman as Betty Simpson
• Gaynor Faye as Lauren Harris
• Ruth Jones as Kelly Chadwick (née Simpson)
• Jonathan Ryland as Kevin Chadwick
• James Corden as Jamie Rymer
• Janet Dibley as Carol McGary
• Barrie Rutter as Douglas Simpson
• Richard Ridings as Alan Ashburn (series 1–3)
• Kathryn Hunt as Val Lorrimer (series 1–2)
• Josie Lawrence as Julia Fleshman (series 1–2)
• Jason Merrells as Carl Whittaker/Carl Watkinson (series 1–2)
• Rita May as Joan Kirk (series 1)
• Meera Syal as Aysha Kapoor (series 1)
• Eleanor Bron as Marilyn Harris
• Allan Corduner as Leonard Harris
• Lisa Riley as Rebecca Patterson (series 2–4)
• Lynda Baron as Norma Patterson (series 2–4)
• Paul Warriner as Paul Thompson (series 2–4)
• Julian Kerridge as Sean Hurst (series 2–4)
• David Harewood as Max Robertson (series 3–4)
• Janine Mellor as Mercedes (series 4)

{{No plot|section|date=January 2022}}

{{Series overview

| color1 = #500050

| link1 = #Season 1 (2000)

| episodes1 = 6

| start1 = {{Start date|2000|10|12|df=y}}

| end1 = {{End date|2000|11|16|df=y}}

| color2 = #D7F717

| link2 = #Season 2 (2002)

| episodes2 = 7

| start2 = {{Start date|2002|9|5|df=y}}

| end2 = {{End date|2002|10|17|df=y}}

| color3 = #FF8855

| link3 = #Season 3 (2004)

| episodes3 = 6

| start3 = {{Start date|2004|1|1|df=y}}

| end3 = {{End date|2004|2|4|df=y}}

| color4 = #FF6969

| link4 = #Season 4 (2005)

| episodes4 = 6

| start4 = {{Start date|2005|2|17|df=y}}

| end4 = {{End date|2005|3|24|df=y}}

}}

{{Episode table |background=#500050 |overall=5 |series=5 |title=22 |director=20 |writer=20 |airdate=18 |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=1

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|Title=Love Me Slender

|DirectedBy=David Wheatley

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2000|10|12|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Kelly Simpson is determined to get in her two-sizes-too-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.

|LineColor=500050

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=2

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|Title=Fat Chance

|DirectedBy= David Wheatley

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2000|10|19|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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.

|LineColor=500050

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=3

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|Title=Fat Free

|DirectedBy=David Wheatley

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2000|10|26|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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 that she is anorexic, and her boyfriend, Gareth, whose nickname for her is "pudding".

|LineColor=500050

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=4

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|Title=Growing Pains

|DirectedBy=Audrey Cooke

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2000|11|2|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 15-year-old member of Superslimmers Jamie reveals the reasons for his depressed state – his mother is battling depression and he is being teased at school. He eventually decides that he can't cope with the pressure of it all and contemplates suicide.

|LineColor=500050

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=5

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|Title=Face the Fat

|DirectedBy=Audrey Cooke

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2000|11|9|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Val prepares to launch her new magazine, but the quest for something trendy to wear and a call to an escort agency for a partner to attend the bash produce further revelations about the slimming world – and herself.

|LineColor=500050

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=6

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|Title=When the Fat Lady Sings

|DirectedBy=Audrey Cooke

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2000|11|16|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Kelly spends the night at a club, but the slimming pills and alcohol make her lose all inhibitions. Kevin tries to find out why he was kept in the dark about the photo session. There's shocking news for Betty when she tries to collect a prescription.

|LineColor=500050

}}

}}

{{Episode table |background=#D7F717 |overall=5 |series=5 |title=22 |director=20 |writer=20 |airdate=18 |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=7

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|Title=Full Belly

|DirectedBy=Audrey Cooke

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|9|5|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Carol faces her own problems when her husband leaves her, leaving her alone with her son. Things then take a horrible turn when Carol decides to go on a diet.

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=8

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|Title=Peaches and Dreams

|DirectedBy=Audrey Cooke

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|9|12|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Lauren's lingerie party turns awkward when her father shows up.

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=9

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|Title=Forty and In-fat-urated

|DirectedBy=Tania Díez

|WrittenBy=Jayne Daniel & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|9|19|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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.

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=10

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|Title=Sweet and Sour

|DirectedBy=Dan Zeff

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|9|26|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= The arrival of divorce papers sends bus driver Alan's blood pressure rocketing, with the result that he fails a medical and loses his job.

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=11

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|Title=Sticky Fingers

|DirectedBy=Dan Zeff

|WrittenBy=Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|10|3|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Lonely teenager Jamie thinks that 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?

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=12

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|Title=In Full Bloom

|DirectedBy=Tania Díez

|WrittenBy=Lisa Holdsworth & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|10|10|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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. However, the shy and retiring twenty-something's cosy world is shattered by the return of a figure from her past, who proceeds to subject her to cruel psychological tortures.

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=13

|EpisodeNumber2=7

|Title=Hunger Pangs

|DirectedBy=Audrey Cooke

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2002|10|17|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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.

|LineColor=D7F717

}}

}}

{{Episode table |background=#FF8855 |overall=5 |series=5 |title=22 |director=20 |writer=20 |airdate=18 |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=14

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|Title=Eat Your Heart Out

|DirectedBy=John Deery

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2004|1|1|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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 that she's been waiting for most of her life.

|LineColor=FF8855

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=15

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|Title=Leggs Over Easy

|DirectedBy=John Anderson

|WrittenBy=Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2004|1|7|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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. When all is revealed, things get even worse for Kelly, especially when she finds out that she's pregnant, but who is the father?

|LineColor=FF8855

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=16

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|Title=Food for Thought

|DirectedBy=John Anderson

|WrittenBy=Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2004|1|14|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Carol faces problems this week when she realises she has fallen for fitness instructor Max, which ends up causing problems with her teenage son.

|LineColor=FF8855

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=17

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|Title=Bacon, Bagels and the Bishop

|DirectedBy=Lance Kneeshaw

|WrittenBy=Katie Baxendale & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2004|1|21|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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?

|LineColor=FF8855

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=18

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|Title=Afters

|DirectedBy=Lance Kneeshaw

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor & Debbie Oates

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2004|1|28|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Rebecca decides it's 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.

|LineColor=FF8855

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=19

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|Title=Food of Love

|DirectedBy=Lance Kneeshaw

|WrittenBy=Katie Baxendale & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2004|2|4|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Jamie's love life picks up when he falls for a beautiful woman who falls for him, too, but when things get in the way, such as her having a daughter and an ex-prisoner ex-boyfriend, will things turn out for the best for Jamie? The gang also head back to Trisha for their final weigh-in. While Jamie provides the food, Kelly gives birth to a baby boy. Note: this episode sees the guest appearance of Trisha Goddard.

|LineColor=FF8855

}}

}}

{{Episode table |background=#FF6969 |overall=5 |series=5 |title=22 |director=20 |writer=20 |airdate=18 |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=20

|EpisodeNumber2=1

|Title=Enough to Go Around

|DirectedBy=John Deery

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2005|2|17|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= The group struggles back from a Spanish hotel stay that they won from their appearance on Trisha. Betty can't wait to get home, so intent is she on seeing her son Simon.

|LineColor=FF6969

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=21

|EpisodeNumber2=2

|Title=Second Helpings

|DirectedBy=Lance Kneeshaw

|WrittenBy=Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2005|2|24|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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?

|LineColor=FF6969

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=22

|EpisodeNumber2=3

|Title=Angel's Delight

|DirectedBy=Lance Kneeshaw

|WrittenBy=Ruth Jones & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2005|3|3|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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. Is Eddie all he seems, though?

|LineColor=FF6969

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=23

|EpisodeNumber2=4

|Title=Get Out of the Kitchen

|DirectedBy=Lance Kneeshaw

|WrittenBy=Gaynor Faye & Kay Mellor

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2005|3|10|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Claire and her little girl have moved in with Jamie, but are her feelings of sickness more than 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 too late. Claire is then hit by a car resulting in her death, and Jamie decides to fight for custody of Claire's daughter.

|LineColor=FF6969

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=24

|EpisodeNumber2=5

|Title=Healthy Options

|DirectedBy=John Anderson

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor & Debbie Oates

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2005|3|17|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= 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, which ends up a little bit more than 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 than wearing it.

|LineColor=FF6969

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber=25

|EpisodeNumber2=6

|Title=Icing on the Cake

|DirectedBy=John Anderson

|WrittenBy=Kay Mellor & Debbie Oates

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2005|3|24|df=y}}

|ShortSummary= Lauren's wedding day approaches. She's always been 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?

|LineColor=FF6969

}}

}}

• British Academy Television Award
• Best Actress for Alison Steadman – Nominated
• Best Drama Series for Kay Mellor & Greg Brenman & David Reynolds – Nominated
• Royal Television Society Programme Awards
• On-Screen Network Newcomer for James Corden – Nominated
• TV Quick Awards
• Best New Drama – Won
• Television and Radio Industries Club Awards
• TV Drama Programme – Won

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)

File:The Grand Theatre & Opera House Leeds (1st December 2017) 001.jpg, 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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/leeds-theatre/news/jodie-prenger-fat-friends-the-musical_42674.html|title=Jodie Prenger to star in Fat Friends The Musical premiere|newspaper=WhatsOnStage.com|access-date=2017-01-19}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Fat Friends filming locations}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0264246|title=Fat Friends}}
• {{British Comedy Guide|tv|fat_friends}}

{{Kay Mellor}}

Category:2000 British television series debuts

Category:2005 British television series endings

Category:2000s British comedy-drama television series

Category:ITV television dramas

Category:Television series by ITV Studios

Category:ITV comedy

Category:Television series by Banijay

Category:Television shows set in Leeds

Category:Television shows set in West Yorkshire

Category:Television series by Yorkshire Television

Category:Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions

Category:British English-language television shows