Everything about Catherine Tate totally explained
Catherine Tate (born
Catherine Ford 12 May 1968) is an
English comedienne and
actress best-known for her
BBC Two sketch comedy series,
The Catherine Tate Show. She has won numerous awards for her work on
The Catherine Tate Show and has been nominated for an
International Emmy Award and four
BAFTA Awards. Following its success, Tate played
Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of
Doctor Who and has since reprised the role as the
the Doctor's
companion for the
fourth series in 2008.
Background
Tate was born in
Bloomsbury,
London and brought up in the
Brunswick Centre. and Tate has said that the character of
Margaret in
The Catherine Tate Show, who shrieks at the slightest of disturbances, is based largely on Josephine. She then tried for four years to get a place in the
Central School of Speech and Drama, succeeding on her fourth attempt.
Acting career
Beginnings
Tate began her television acting career with roles in serial dramas such as
The Bill, and has appeared in comedy series such as
The Harry Hill Show,
Barking and
That Peter Kay Thing. who commented "Catherine Tate is far too talented and she must be destroyed."
2004-2005
Tate was then given her own programme on
BBC Two in 2004, which she co-wrote and starred in with
Derren Litten, entitled
The Catherine Tate Show, which ran for three series since its premiere. and with the first series becoming a success, in March 2005, Tate made a guest appearance during the
BBC's
Comic Relief as the character of Lauren from
The Catherine Tate Show, alongside boy-band
McFly, which gained her further exposure. Also at that time, she was a guest star at the 77th
Royal Variety Performance and appeared again in the guise of Lauren Cooper. During the sketch, Tate looked up at the Royal Box and asked
The Queen, "Is one bovvered? Is one's face bovvered?". She also commented during the sketch that
Prince Phillip had fallen asleep: "she is bling, but the old fella next to her is asleep!" He then reportedly complained to the show's executive producer, saying he'd been insulted. At the end of 2005, she appeared in the
BBC television adaptation of
Bleak House.
Tate reuturned to the stage for the first time since working with the RSC, to play a role in the 2005
West End revival of
Some Girl(s), alongside
Sara Powell,
Lesley Manville,
Saffron Burrows and
Friends star
David Schwimmer. In an interview, Tate commented that she couldn't look Schwimmer in the eye during her time with him, leading to speculation that the pair didn't get on.
2006-2007
The third series of
The Catherine Tate Show aired in 2006, going on to win the
National Television Award for most popular comedy as voted for by the public, and Tate's catchphrase "bovvered", used by her character Lauren Cooper, became so influential in
popular culture that it was named
Word of the Year and was even poised to enter the
Oxford English Dictionary. Tate also played the role of
Donna Noble in
Doctor Who, a woman in a wedding dress who suddenly appears in the
TARDIS at the end of the episode "
Doomsday". The following episode, the Christmas special entitled "
The Runaway Bride", saw Tate's character in a major role, where she was temporarily the Doctor's companion.
Tate had roles in three films in 2006, these included,
Starter for Ten,
Sixty Six,
In the 2007 television adaptation of the novel,
The Bad Mother's Handbook, she played the lead role and co-starred with
Anne Reid.
On
16 March,
2007, Tate appeared for a second time on Comic Relief as some of her well-known characters from
The Catherine Tate Show. She acted in sketches with
David Tennant,
Daniel Craig,
Lenny Henry, and the then
Prime Minister Tony Blair, who used the show's famous catchphrase, "Am I bovvered?" Tate also appeared as
Joannie "Nan" Taylor in an episode of
Deal or No Deal, hosted by
Noel Edmonds.
End of 2007-present
Despite speculation that the third series of
The Catherine Tate Show would be the last, Tate and the BBC have not ruled out further episodes. The episode was the subject to criticism when 42 viewers complained of the amount of
swearing, and accused Tate of bigotry over the depiction of a Catholic family from
Northern Ireland as terrorists, whose Christmas presents included a
balaclava and a pair of
knuckle dusters, in reference to
The Troubles. After the complaints were made, an
Ofcom report later concluded that the show wasn't offensive and didn't violate broadcasting regulations. An extract from the Ofcom report read "Overall this episode was typical of the Catherine Tate Show and wouldn't have gone beyond the expectations of its usual audience. For those not familiar with the show, the information given at the start was adequate."
She has also been nominated for four
BAFTA Awards for her work on
The Catherine Tate Show to date, including Best Comedy Performance. In 2007, upon Tate not winning a BAFTA for a third year, she reportedly accused the BAFTA panel of being out of touch with the views of the British public.
It was announced on
4 July,
2007 that Tate would be returning to
Doctor Who to reprise the role of
Donna Noble as the Doctor's companion throughout the
fourth series, which is currently being shown on
BBC One as of
5 April 2008 for a 13-week run. Producer
Russell T. Davies said, "We are delighted that one of Britain's greatest talents has agreed to join us for the fourth series." Tate added, "I am delighted to be returning to Doctor Who. I'd a blast last Christmas and look forward to travelling again through time and space with that nice man from
Gallifrey."
Personal life
Tate's partner is stage manager Twig Clark. They have one daughter, Erin (born 2003) with whom Tate was pregnant with during the filming of the first series of
The Catherine Tate Show. Following an emergency
caesarean section to deliver Erin,
2005: International Emmy — Best Performance by an Actress
2005: BAFTA TV Award — Best New Writer
2005: BAFTA TV Award — Comedy Programme or Series Award
2006: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Performance
2007: BAFTA TV Award — Best Comedy Programme
Filmography
The Bill (1993) — WDC Palmer
Milner (1994) — Jesson's P.A.
Men Behaving Badly (1994) — Young woman
That Peter Kay Thing (2000)
Attention Scum (2001)
Big Train (1998 - 2002) — various roles
Wild West (2004) — Angela Phillips
The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007) — various characters
Bleak House (2005) — Mrs Chadband
Love and Other Disasters (2006) — Talullah Wentworth
Starter for Ten (2006) — Julie Jackson
Sixty Six (2006) — Aunt Lila
Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006) — Sara
Marple: "A Murder is Announced" (2005) - Mitzi Kosinski
Doctor Who (2006, 2008) — Donna Noble
The Bad Mother's Handbook (2007) — Karen Cooper
Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution (2007) — Dorothy RatcliffeFurther Information
Get more info on 'Catherine Tate'.
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