Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
MY, HOW THEY’VE GROWN!
Can those really be the precocious children we first saw on hit sitcom Outnumbered ten years ago? As they return for a Christmas special, they tell how they’ve grown up...
Yes, those really are the Outnumbered children, who reveal what they’ll be getting up to in the new Christmas special
Doesn’t time fly in TV land? It seems like only yesterday we were enjoying the trials and tribulations of middle- class parents Pete and Sue Brockman and their three precocious children Jake, Ben and Karen, who were 11, seven and five years old when hit sitcom Outnumbered first aired in 2007. But today, almost ten years on and back together for a Christmas special – the first episode for nearly three years – Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez, who play Jake, Ben and Karen, are 20, 17 and 15, and my how they’ve grown.
But the children, if you can still call them that, make no apologies for growing up. ‘We age at exactly the same rate as everyone else on the planet,’ sighs Tyger. ‘It seems absurd that some people don’t realise it. I’m always having people come up and say, “God, I thought you were about 12!” And I say, “Yes, I was... eight years ago. That’s how it works.”’
He does admit he was taken aback himself, though, at seeing his little TV sister turn into a teenager. ‘I remember Ramona was so young I thought she was cute. I was ten or 11 and she was five or six and we were friends,’ he says. ‘It’s weird now she’s grown up. She and Daniel look the same age as me.’
Outnumbered was an immediate hit in 2007, and the children, who semi-improvised their scripts because they were too young to learn them, were the show’s beating heart. It ran for five series until 2014, but by then trouble-maker Ben was towering over his on- screen mother, played by Claire Skinner. At that point creators Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin said there’d be no more.
But all the cast have said they’re constantly asked about more episodes and eventually Andy and Guy relented. They now say this Christmas special could be the first of several more episodes. The story is based on the last wishes of Grandad after the actor who played him, David Ryall, died two years ago. It takes place on Boxing Day and the Brockmans have to carry out a ‘special mission’ for Grandad, but there are inevitably car problems and fights, and when Pete and Sue struggle to sort things out it’s time for the children to step in and show how grown up they really are.
‘I suppose you could say it’s a road trip – if they actually got anywhere,’ says Andy Hamilton. ‘The audience will get a strong signal that things are
The Brockmans in 2008 the same but different. They have to accept the children have grown up.’
In recent years, Tyger has hosted his own documentary series as well as continuing with acting. His once round face is now chiselled and handsome. ‘I’m excited about doing it again,’ he says of the new special. ‘Hopefully there won’t be too many bigots who don’t watch because they think it won’t be funny because we’re too old.’
Daniel is a semi-professional rugby player for London’s Wasps who’s studying for his A-levels at a north London private school. ‘I’ve calmed down since I was seven,’ he says. ‘Although I never got into any of the shenanigans Ben did. I haven’t done much acting lately – rugby is the priority – so I’m looking forward to seeing what Ben’s up to.’
The biggest change is with Ramona. She’s turned into a beautiful and self-assured young woman who often dyes her hair. She retains her singsong voice though, and giggles that her Instagram friends are going to ‘go crazy’ when they learn Outnumbered is back at Christmas.
All three of them have spent most of their lives being famous. ‘We don’t know anything different,’ says Ramona. ‘Wherever I go people call me Karen and I understand that it must be a bit mind-blowing. I get nervous when I meet famous people and I think I’m going to get starstruck working with Hugh [Dennis, who plays Pete Brockman] again because me and my boyfriend love him on Mock The Week.’
As all five series of the show are now available on Netflix, a whole new audience has been introduced to them. ‘When I’m having a sleepover with friends they love to stick it on,’ says Ramona. ‘I like the early ones but I cringe at the more recent ones.’
Daniel and Ramona, who’ve stayed friends as they live near each other, were both at the Reading Festival in the summer, where they had a harsh lesson in the pitfalls of fame. Word went round on the internet that Ramona had taken drugs, which she strongly denied, and she was infuriated. ‘I don’t understand why people felt the need to do that,’ she says. Meanwhile, pictures of Daniel looking bleary- eyed and drinking painted the wrong picture too. ‘If kids are drunk it can get a bit crazy,’ he explains. ‘Twenty people grabbed me and took me to a chair. They tried to cable-tie me and made me down the alcohol while they were filming it.
‘Once I saw it was good-natured I went along with it,’ he adds. ‘But the video was all over the internet; when I got back to school my teacher said, “I see you had a fun summer.”’
He’s also thrilled to get the chance to do another show. ‘It would be great to do it at different stages in our lives,’ he says. ‘Although we might call it a day once Ramona’s a grandmother!’
Outnumbered Christmas special, Boxing Day, 10pm, BBC1.
‘We might call it a day once Ramona’s a grandmother!’