Comic Relief viewers were left unimpressed when Catherine Tate brought back her infamous sketch characters, Nan and Lauren Cooper, during the charity telethon.
The 56-year-old comedian made her debut as one of this year’s hosts, kicking off the show with Nan’s foul-mouthed antics before jumping into her schoolgirl persona as Lauren. Both characters, which originally made their mark in Tate’s award-winning 2004-2007 sketch show, were branded “excruciatingly unfunny” by many onlookers.
First, Nan took to the stage for an opening number to Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now, joined by pensioner-dressed backup dancers. She also wheeled in co-hosts Davina McCall and Joel Dommett in armchairs.
Next, Tate slipped into the role of Lauren Cooper, delivering her iconic “Am I Bovvered?” catchphrase as Davina McCall played the teacher. However, many viewers on X (formerly Twitter) were not feeling it:
- “Catherine Tate as Nan again. Excruciatingly unfunny.”
- “I remember when you were actually funny. This one starts with Nan, and it’s just awful.”
- “Catherine Tate, so unfunny it’s painful. #ComicRelief.”
This reaction comes as no surprise to some, given that Tate has revived these characters for Comic Relief sketches several times before, including 2007, 2009, and 2021. However, many felt that the sketches felt outdated and out of sync with today’s audience.
While the comedy left much to be desired, the evening had its more heartwarming moments. Greg James raised an impressive £2.8 million for his Comic Relief bike challenge, completing a 1000km tandem bike ride. Greg’s joyous reaction as he passed his fundraising goal was a high point of the evening:
- “2.8 million! YESSS!” Greg screamed with excitement. “We’re really moving! It’s fun. Silly things are fun, right?”
As the donations continued to pour in, Greg set his sights on hitting £3 million by the end of the day, giving the event a truly memorable finale.
