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Beautiful People (UK TV series)
Encyclopedia
Beautiful People is a British comedy drama television series based on the memoirs of Barneys creative director Simon Doonan
. The series takes place in Reading, Berkshire
in 1997, where thirteen-year-old Simon Doonan and his best friend Kylie dream of escaping their dreary suburban surroundings and moving to cosmopolitan London "to live amongst the beautiful people". The first episode aired on BBC Two
on 2 October 2008 and recorded overnight ratings of 1.5 million viewers and positive critical reaction. Episodes are self-contained, but do follow a loose story arc throughout the course of each series. The second and final series finished airing on 18 December 2009.
In 2008 New York
, Simon Doonan, a window-dresser at Barneys
, tells his boyfriend Sacha various tales from his childhood in Reading
. Most of Simon's stories center around how he came to own some of his most treasured possessions, which he finds a place for in his eccentric window displays. Over the course of the series, young Simon struggles to express his love of music, theater, and fashion in a working class community, with local hooligans hounding him at school and a supportive but quirky family squashing his efforts at home. While it is implied, sexuality is not relevant.
Series 2
The second series of Beautiful People was broadcast in 2009, when Simon returns to Reading
to mend his heart after breaking up with his boyfriend Sacha. As in the first series, Simon recounts stories from his childhood in Reading
, but speaks directly to the viewer instead of to Sacha. Simon and Kylie's sexuality becomes more overt in the second series as the two lads become more comfortable with themselves. In the series finale, Simon finds himself attracted to a new boy at school, prompting him to come out
to his mother after being dissuaded from running away from home.
Lucy Lumsden and Controller of Comedy Commissioning Roly Keating. The six episodes were written by Jonathan Harvey
(Gimme Gimme Gimme
) and directed by Gareth Carrivick. Studio filming was done at Shepperton Studios
and exterior locations at Bushey
, Hertfordshire
, Harrow, London
and New York City
. Exterior scenes of the cul de sac where Simon lives are filmed on Crabtree Close in Bushey
. Doonan grew up in Reading in the 1960s but Harvey moved the setting forward to the 1990s. Executive producer Jon Plowman
hoped audiences would relate to Simon's childhood; "Every teenager thinks they're different [...] I hope the audience will think: 'That's me as a teenager being laughed at. Everyone else was in a gang together, and I was in a gang of one.' But the truth is, everyone is in a gang of one."
Olivia Colman helped the cast to bond on set by arranging a visit from a mobile blood donor unit.
s Grace Dent as "a sort of camp, working-class British Arrested Development". Dent wrote that it "made [her] laugh more than anything [she had] seen so far on TV this year". Tim Teeman, the entertainment editor for The Times
, rated "How I Got My Vase" three out of five stars. Teeman complimented Ward-Wilkinson's and Williams's acting but did not believe the 1990s were long ago enough to feel nostalgia for. Hermione Eyre for The Independent
praised Williams and Colman, and compared the show to The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.
for "Outstanding Comedy Series" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards
.
Simon Doonan
Simon Doonan is the Creative Ambassador-at-Large of the New York City-based clothing store, Barneys.-Biography:Doonan hails from the English town of Reading. He got his first retail job as a summer job working at Heelas, a department store in Reading that belonged to the John Lewis Partnership...
. The series takes place in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in 1997, where thirteen-year-old Simon Doonan and his best friend Kylie dream of escaping their dreary suburban surroundings and moving to cosmopolitan London "to live amongst the beautiful people". The first episode aired on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 2 October 2008 and recorded overnight ratings of 1.5 million viewers and positive critical reaction. Episodes are self-contained, but do follow a loose story arc throughout the course of each series. The second and final series finished airing on 18 December 2009.
Cast and characters
- Simon Doonan (Luke Ward-WilkinsonLuke Ward-WilkinsonLuke Ward-Wilkinson, born in 1992 in England, is an English actor.-Career:He is best known for his lead role as the teenage Simon Doonan in the BBC comedy series Beautiful People which has so far run for 2 series on BBC Two....
), an effeminate 14-year-old schoolboy who longs to escape 1990s Reading for the glamour of London. Played by Samuel BarnettSamuel Barnett (actor)Samuel Barnett is an English actor. He has performed on stage, film, television and radio, and achieved recognition for his work on the stage and film versions of The History Boys by Alan Bennett...
in present-day scenes. - Kylie Parkinson (Layton WilliamsLayton WilliamsLayton Williams is an English stage actor, best known as one of the boys who played the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London's West End, and as the character Kylie in the BBC UK TV series Beautiful People 2008 and 2009.-Career:After several months of...
), Simon's best friend, whose real name is Kyle. Similarly feyFeyFey may refer to:* A word meaning "wild or crazy acting", often ascribed to supernatural causes and evidenced by abnormal behavior...
, and obsessed with Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, but idolizes Princess Diana. Played by Howard Charles in a present-day scene, but is voiced by Williams. - Debbie Doonan (Olivia ColmanOlivia ColmanOlivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...
), Simon's mother, a brash barmaid who speaks her mind and has a slight drinking problem. - Andy Doonan (Aidan McArdleAidan McArdleAidan McArdle is an Irish actor.McArdle was born in Dublin. He studied for an Arts degree at University College Dublin before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England....
), Simon's father, a hardworking Irish plumber. - Ashlene Doonan (Sophie Ash), Simon's sister, known to be promiscuous.
- Aunty Hayley (Meera SyalMeera SyalMeera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
), Simon's blind "aunt" and Debbie's best friend, who lodges with the Doonans. - Reba Parkinson (Sarah NilesSarah NilesSarah Niles is a British film, television and theatre actress. Niles has appeared mainly in theatre productions, however she is most famous for portraying Reba Parkinson in the BBC television series Beautiful People. Niles has also had roles in various high-profile television shows such as Doctor...
), Kylie's mother, the Doonans' neighbour, and Debbie's rival.
Occasional Characters
- Narg (Brenda FrickerBrenda FrickerBrenda Fricker is an Irish actress of theatre, film and television. She had appeared in more than 30 films and television roles...
), Simon's nan; first an angelic Catholic woman, soon turns nasty and difficult after electroshock therapy. - Mummy, Aunty Hayley's overweight guide dog.
- Tameka (Tameka EmpsonTameka EmpsonTameka Empson is a British actress and comedienne who is perhaps best known for being one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non Blondes.Tameka also featured in a episode of MI High : Red Button Rampage, Series one...
), Debbie's RumRumRum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
-loving hairdresser. - Johoyo (Tameka EmpsonTameka EmpsonTameka Empson is a British actress and comedienne who is perhaps best known for being one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non Blondes.Tameka also featured in a episode of MI High : Red Button Rampage, Series one...
), Tameka's eccentric identical Nigerian cousin who takes over her salon after her death. - Sacha (Gary Amers), present-day Simon's New York partner in series 1.
- Jayeson Jackson (Josh Handley), Simon's classmate, who often bullies and torments Simon for being effeminate.
- Miss Perrin (Michelle ButterlyMichelle ButterlyMichelle Butterly in Liverpool is an English actress. She has played Julie Oldroyd in Soldier Soldier in 1997, Melanie Dyson in Casualty from 1999 to 2001, and she has appeared in Pie in the Sky, The Bill, No Angels, and Dangerfield...
), the headmistres at Simon's school, whom he counts as one of the few "beautiful people" in Reading.
Series synopses
Series 1In 2008 New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Simon Doonan, a window-dresser at Barneys
Barneys New York
Barneys New York is a chain of luxury department stores headquartered in New York City. The chain owns large stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale, and smaller stores in other locations across the United States.Brands sold include...
, tells his boyfriend Sacha various tales from his childhood in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. Most of Simon's stories center around how he came to own some of his most treasured possessions, which he finds a place for in his eccentric window displays. Over the course of the series, young Simon struggles to express his love of music, theater, and fashion in a working class community, with local hooligans hounding him at school and a supportive but quirky family squashing his efforts at home. While it is implied, sexuality is not relevant.
Series 2
The second series of Beautiful People was broadcast in 2009, when Simon returns to Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
to mend his heart after breaking up with his boyfriend Sacha. As in the first series, Simon recounts stories from his childhood in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, but speaks directly to the viewer instead of to Sacha. Simon and Kylie's sexuality becomes more overt in the second series as the two lads become more comfortable with themselves. In the series finale, Simon finds himself attracted to a new boy at school, prompting him to come out
Come Out
Come Out may refer to:*Come Out , a music piece by Steve Reich*Coming out, disclosing one's homosexuality or bisexuality.*"Come Out", a song by Camper van Beethoven from New Roman Times...
to his mother after being dissuaded from running away from home.
- « I'm not like other boys...»
- « Good, other boys are crap. »
- « No they're not, otherwise why would I like them so much? »
Production
The comedy was greenlit in May 2008 by Controller of BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Lucy Lumsden and Controller of Comedy Commissioning Roly Keating. The six episodes were written by Jonathan Harvey
Jonathan Harvey (playwright)
Jonathan Harvey is a British playwright whose work has earned multiple awards. He is also a former secondary school English teacher.-Life and works:...
(Gimme Gimme Gimme
Gimme Gimme Gimme
Gimme Gimme Gimme is a BBC television sitcom by Tiger Aspect Productions that ran for three series between 1999 and 2001. It was written by Jonathan Harvey, who developed the series with Kathy Burke....
) and directed by Gareth Carrivick. Studio filming was done at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
and exterior locations at Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Harrow, London
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Exterior scenes of the cul de sac where Simon lives are filmed on Crabtree Close in Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
. Doonan grew up in Reading in the 1960s but Harvey moved the setting forward to the 1990s. Executive producer Jon Plowman
Jon Plowman
Jon Plowman has been a producer at the BBC since 1980, when he produced Russell Harty's chat show Harty...
hoped audiences would relate to Simon's childhood; "Every teenager thinks they're different [...] I hope the audience will think: 'That's me as a teenager being laughed at. Everyone else was in a gang together, and I was in a gang of one.' But the truth is, everyone is in a gang of one."
Olivia Colman helped the cast to bond on set by arranging a visit from a mobile blood donor unit.
Series 1
| # | Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | ||
| # | Series 1 | BBC Two | |
| Viewers (millions) | Audience share | ||
| |
"How I Got My Vase" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Nose" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Beads" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Posh" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Tongs" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Globe" | |
|
| Series 2 | |||
| |
"How I Got My Groom" | ||
| |
"How I Got My Plumes" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Water Feature" | |
|
| |
"How I Got My Camp" | ||
| |
"How I Got My Turner" | ||
| |
"How I Got My Gash" | ||
Critical reaction
The series was previewed by The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Grace Dent as "a sort of camp, working-class British Arrested Development". Dent wrote that it "made [her] laugh more than anything [she had] seen so far on TV this year". Tim Teeman, the entertainment editor for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, rated "How I Got My Vase" three out of five stars. Teeman complimented Ward-Wilkinson's and Williams's acting but did not believe the 1990s were long ago enough to feel nostalgia for. Hermione Eyre for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
praised Williams and Colman, and compared the show to The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.
Series Two
The second series began on 13 November 2009 on BBC Two. The flashbacks in the second series are set in 1998. In the present-day scenes, Sacha and Simon have split up and Simon has returned to Reading. An ongoing storyline in 1998 concerns the unplanned pregnancy of Simon's sister Ashlene.Awards
In 2010, Beautiful People was nominated for a GLAAD Media AwardGLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for "Outstanding Comedy Series" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards
21st GLAAD Media Awards
The 21st GLAAD Media Awards was the 2010 annual presentation of the media awards presented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The awards seek to honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that fairly and accurately represent the LGBT community and issues...
.
Merchandise
- Doonan's memoirs have been re-released with a tie-in cover by Harper Collins.
- An accompanying soundtrack to the series was released by EMI on 20 October 2008. Whilst mostly being a compilation of the hit records from the 70s, 80s and 90s that were used in the series, the album also contains new cover versions, including a duet by KylieKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
and Dannii MinogueDannii MinogueDanielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, television personality, radio personality, fashion designer and model...
of ABBAABBAABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
's "The Winner Takes It AllThe Winner Takes It All"The Winner Takes It All" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Released as the first single from the group's Super Trouper album on July 21, 1980, it is a ballad in the key of F-sharp major, reflecting the end of a romance...
", and a version of Dolly PartonDolly PartonDolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
's 1970s hit "JoleneJolene (song)"Jolene" is a song written and performed by Dolly Parton from her album Jolene , produced by Bob Ferguson. It is ranked #217 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".-History:...
" covered by Sophie Ellis-BextorSophie Ellis-BextorSophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
.
External links
- British Comedy Guide
- Beautiful People playlist at BBC YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel - Logo web site in the US
- The Real Life Simon Doonan's website
- Interview with Simon Doonan about the TV series Beautiful People