My Life as a Popat
Encyclopedia
My Life as a Popat follows the lives of an Indian family, through the eyes of their eldest son, Anand. The teenager fights a daily basis full of embarrassment. The second series brings a change to storyline, with brainbox Chetan Popat sometimes taking centre stage. Milli Patel (the Popats' cousin) also comes for the whole series.
budget restrains. However, after the show won a BAFTA, a second series was commissioned.
Laura Greenwood
(Holly Saviour) was axed in the second series so (after a farewell appearance in the first episode) the character was written out. The new character of Lucy Miesels (played by Yasmin Paige
) was introduced in the next episode.
Following further budget cuts to CITV My Life as a Popat was not recomissioned for a third series.
Cast
- Sonny Gill Dulay - Anand Popat
- Kulvinder GhirKulvinder GhirKulvinder Ghir, born in Nairobi, Kenya, is a British actor, comedian and writer of South Asian ancestry, best known for his roles in Rita, Sue & Bob Too, Blood & Peaches, Bend It Like Beckham and the sketch show Goodness Gracious Me...
- Ramesh Popat - Shaheen KhanShaheen KhanShaheen Khan, also credited as Sandhya, is an Indian film actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. She is notably known for reprising the role of Sandhya in three consecutive films in different languages....
- Shoba Popat - Chandeep UppalChandeep UppalChandeep Uppal is a British actress best known for her critically acclaimed starring role as Meena Kumar in the film Anita and Me.-Career:...
- Dimple Popat - James GandhiJames Gandhi- Career :James Gandhi is a British actor and goes to Balcarras School.James Gandhi first appeared in My Life as a Popat at the age of 10. The show then went on to win numerous awards, including a BAFTA for best children's drama, and received critical acclaim.Gandhi then went on to star in Eden...
- Chetan Popat - Laura GreenwoodLaura GreenwoodLaura Greenwood is an English actress and a member of the YoungBlood Theatre Company in 2006.Greenwood's big breakthrough came in 2006 when at age 14 she starred as Penny Philips opposite Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect The Final Act, the two-part conclusion to ITV's long-running series...
- Holly Saviour (Series 1 and one episode of Series 2) - Felicity MontaguFelicity MontaguFelicity Montagu is an English actress, known for her performances in radio and television comedy series and films.Educated at Loughborough University and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Felicity Montagu has played the foil to a series of prominent comedy characters.-Television:Montagu...
- Ivy Saviour (Series 1 and one episode of Series 2) - Dave HillDave Hill (actor)David "Dave" Hill is a British actor. He was born in Skipton, North Yorkshire. He attended Ermysted's Grammar School for boys in Skipton. He has appeared in The Full Monty as well as many other TV series and films...
- Alf Saviour (Series 1) - Yasmin PaigeYasmin PaigeYasmin Paige is an English actress who is best known for her role as Maria in The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off from the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Having acted and modelled since the age of four, she made her screen debut in the 2003 film Wondrous Oblivion...
- Lucy Miesels (Series 2) - Manjeeven GrewalManjeeven GrewalManjeeven Grewal is a British actress.Grewel began acting at the age of 11, taking drama classes at Derby Youth Centre. She attended Derby High School....
- Milli Patel (Series 2)
Trivia
My Life as a Popat was first not recommissioned after the second series due to CITVCITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
budget restrains. However, after the show won a BAFTA, a second series was commissioned.
Laura Greenwood
Laura Greenwood
Laura Greenwood is an English actress and a member of the YoungBlood Theatre Company in 2006.Greenwood's big breakthrough came in 2006 when at age 14 she starred as Penny Philips opposite Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect The Final Act, the two-part conclusion to ITV's long-running series...
(Holly Saviour) was axed in the second series so (after a farewell appearance in the first episode) the character was written out. The new character of Lucy Miesels (played by Yasmin Paige
Yasmin Paige
Yasmin Paige is an English actress who is best known for her role as Maria in The Sarah Jane Adventures, a spin-off from the BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Having acted and modelled since the age of four, she made her screen debut in the 2003 film Wondrous Oblivion...
) was introduced in the next episode.
Following further budget cuts to CITV My Life as a Popat was not recomissioned for a third series.
Game
CITV made a My Life as a Popat game which can be found on the CITV website: http://www.citv.co.uk/page.asp?partid=212Series 1 (2004)
| Episode # | Title | First broadcast | Synopsis |
| 1. | "Men in Turbans" | 7 September 2004 | Anand Popat arrives with his family in Harrow and is particularly keen to make a good impression with his next door neighbour Holly. Will he ever pluck up the courage to invite her to see ‘Men in Turbans’?. |
| 2. | "Entertaining Radha" | 14 September 2004 | Anand’s heart sinks when his parents announce that bratty showbiz cousin Radha is coming all the way from Bombay to visit. |
| 3. | "Dimplicious" | 21 September 2004 | Dimple’s endless singing practice for an important end of year Pop Idol style school concert is driving Anand and Chetan to distraction. |
| 4. | "Health is Wealth" | 28 September 2004 | When Anand is given a school project to assess his family’s eating habits, he sees that their high fat curry diet gives them all almost zero life expectancy. He must do something to make them change before it’s too late. |
| 5. | "Happy Diwali" | 5 October 2004 | It’s the night before Diwali – the Indian Festival of light – and Dimple, Chetan and Anand are dreading yet another record-breaking speech from their father, Ramesh. They have much more exciting plans and need to escape. |
| 6. | "Take Your Child to Work Day" (aka "Got to be Ghee") | 12 October 2004 | Anand is assigned yet another school project that fills him with dread. Ramesh, his father, hates to be disturbed when he’s filming for his Asian satellite channel- how will he take to ‘take your child to work day’ ? |
Series 2 (2007)
| Episode # | Title | First broadcast | Synopsis |
| 1. | "Tit for Tat" | 11 April 2007 | Mili and Chetan join forces against Anand and Dimple. Meanwhile, Holly has an announcement for Anand... |
| 2. | "Ghost" | 12 April 2007 | The Popats think that they are being haunted by Uncle Sailesh's ghost. Chetan doesn't believe in ghosts but wants to make contact with an alien. Does either exist - or is there a human hand behind the unexplained goings-on? |
| 3. | "Evil Granny" | 13 April 2007 | Ramesh's eccentric mother comes to stay - and she's the most evil, twisted gran in history. Anand discovers that he may have been adopted - looking at his gran he might wish he were. But in the end, blood is thicker than water. |
| 4. | "Juvenile Delinquent" | 16 April 2007 | When Milli beats him the Matholympics exam, Chetan temporarily abandons his brainbox persona and becomes a hoodie. Milan pretends to be poor to see if Dimple only loves him for his money |
| 5. | "Like Father, Like Son" | 17 April 2007 | Ramesh and Anand undergo a body swap. Ramesh has to go to school and Anand has to go to work - with unexpected consequences. |
| 6. | "Girlfiend" | 18 April 2007 | Chetan is on a quest to find his perfect partner, Anand is on a quest to prove himself, and Dimple is on a quest to improve Milan's memory. |
| 7. | "Popat Idol" | 19 April 2007 | Anand joins a boy band to save the family holiday. Milli plots to stay with the Popats for longer. |
| 8. | "Royal Popats" | 20 April 2007 | Dimple is Milan's princess. But when his parents ask to meet her, the Popats come up with a crazy plan to pretend to be an ancient, royal Indian family. Anand is about to lose Lucy to the school bully - only ballroom dancing can prevent it. |
External links
- My Life as a Popat at itv.com/citvItv.comitv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...