Catherine Tate heads Downunder

Ethan Sills talks to Catherine Tate about reviving her beloved comic characters, ahead of her New Zealand tour

Mum.

It’s been more than 10 years since The Catherine Tate Show was last on air but the show’s lasting legacy is undeniable. Even now if you fire an “am I bovvered?” at someone, the image of petulant, ginger Cockney teen will immediately come to mind. Yet the fact that these characters have not only endured but were popular in the first place is a surprise to Catherine Tate. “You’d think they were very specific,” she says, reflecting on her varied cast of catchphraseladen characters. “Especially Nan, I wasn’t sure if anyone outside of a specific borough of London would get that.” Surprise seems to be a recurring part of Tate’s career. The Catherine Tate Show was a ratings bonanza, both here and in the UK, when it first started up in 2004. It went on to win multiple British Comedy Awards and picked up both Bafta and Emmy nominations. In 2016, Tate took her many wigs and accents on the road, touring the UK for two months and selling out some of the country’s biggest venues.

Her latest shock? The fact her show is not only coming to New Zealand next month but that it sold out the first five shows, forcing promoters to add another four dates across the country, including a super-sized gig at Auckland’s Spark Arena.

“When I did the show in the UK and the promoter said ‘what do you think of going to Australia and New Zealand’, my first thought was, ‘Does anyone know me?’ So I was absolutely blown over when I heard that there is an audience, that there is what would seem to be a fanbase, which is just amazing,” she says in genuine surprise.

“I’m delighted that I can come out and bring the show to people who want to see it.”

The fact her characters have struck such a chord around the globe is something Tate puts down to the “comedy of recognition”.

“It’s that thing of ‘I know someone like that, or my neighbour’s like that.’ It’s human nature, that’s what a lot of comedy is about. We just recognise a lot of ourselves in others.”

Tate says fans can expect the live show to be bigger than the television series, but it will feature the same beloved line-up of characters. She didn’t want to alter any of them for the live show, as it would go against their spirit.

Likewise, she’s hasn’t revised the comedy to cater to new attitudes. In the 10 years since the show last screened on television, societal attitudes have shifted massively and what was once seen as acceptable and funny may now be deemed offensive and off-limits.

Fellow Brits Matt Lucas and David Walliams have both said they would not make Little Britain, part of the same era as Tate’s show, in the same way today.

Tate says she has not rewatched the series through “the lens of the brave new world” we now live in, but says she expects there would be some sketches that don’t stand up today.

However, she warns against making comedy too much of a safe space.

“It’s right that everyone is much more aware of everyone else now, but it’s not about being so hypersensitive that we’re afraid to have a laugh.

“What it comes back to for me is intent, and if your intent is harm, then that’s a very dangerous thing. But I don’t know very many comedians who do this.”

Though her comedy characters are embedded in our pop culture consciousness, for many Tate will only ever be known as Doctor Who’s Donna Noble.

In what was another surprise “out of the blue” move for her, Tate was asked to join the long-running sci-fi show in 2006, co-starring in that year’s Christmas special.

“I said yes straight away without seeing a script because it was Russell T. Davies writing it so I’d never need to see a script, and I knew I’d be working with David Tennant.”

Tate was later asked back for the fourth series in 2008 as the fulltime companion, where her role as the naive-but-assertive office temp quickly made a lasting impact.

Though she admits she never watched the show — “it’s not my thing” — Tate says it was one of the “most brilliant jobs” and an “absolute joy”, especially as it sparked a firm and lasting friendship with Tennant.

It was the fans turn to be surprised, though, when Donna’s storyline reached a heartbreaking end after The Doctor was forced to wipe all her memories.

Fans were devastated, but Tate loved the brutal end, even though it meant she is unlikely to ever return.

“It’s so brave and it’s so devastating and I just thought it was such a brilliantly bad thing to do this character.

“I thought that was the most brilliant coup of a writer, to have the guts to do that.”

Hopefully, there won’t be any tears shed during her NZ tour, which will see her play Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Palmerston North.

Tate promises a fast show, with quick costume changes, the unexpected terror of audience interaction, and all the characters and catchphrases everybody knows and loves.

“It’s got a lot of energy, it has a lot of character, it’s got a lot of laughs,” she effuses. “I hope there’s something for everyone.

“It’s just a great big blast of fun.”