The IT Crowd

Roy

Roy is someone whose spiky personality ensures that he will always be kept as far away from normal people as possible. Society would probably keep him in a cage hanging over a cliff if he didn't know anything about computers; as it is, they store him deep in a basement, where, far from prying eyes, he is able to indulge his love of everything that is bad for him; fast food, comics and endless nonsensical arguments with his best friend, Moss.

Rumour has it Roy may have had a girlfriend at some point. He can often be found wandering up to the fifth floor to look at all the beautiful girls up there. Once while he was fixing the PC of a girl on fifth floor she rested her cup of coffee on his back. Could this be love?

Moss

Moss is the nerdiest person you will ever meet. He is highly intelligent but has the social skills of a serial killer. He can't communicate with anything that doesn't have a keyboard. Apparently still dressed by his mum, his lack of social nous means he has absolutely no clue how to deal with his female boss Jen.

Moss has all the classic symptoms of a nerd - trousers too short but worn too high, clip-on ties, very bad hair, amazing socially ineptness and an interesting variety of maths teacher checked shirts.

Moss can use more TLAs than an RFC on ICT... whatever that means! He also possesses the incredible yet useless skill of jabbing a screwdriver into the desk between his fingers at incredible speed. One miss and he'll ruin his typing speed!

Jen

Jen has dreamed of being a high-powered business woman all her life, or at least that's what she claims on her CV. Armed with an imitation Armani suit and an ability to tell the most outrageous lies while keeping a straight face, she has no idea that even these meagre qualities make her overqualified for her new position: the Relationship Manager to Reynholm Industries' I.T. Department.

Jen is always dreaming of having smaller feet and a pair of Manolo Blahniks to show them off. She would like nothing better than to be on the fifth floor amongst all the other gorgeous people but, as luck would have it, she is stranded in the "isle of nerddom" that is the basement. Unfortunately, Jen knows nothing about computers which makes it rather difficult for her to complete her job.

Denholm Reynholm (Series 1-3)

Denholm was the head of Reynholm Industries in series one.

Arrogant and loud, Denholm was frankly a bit crazy. He ran the company with the energy and style of a thousand management consultants. i.e. he didn't have any tangible good ideas, just 'blue sky solution strategies'.

If Denholm wasn't heading up a multi-billion pound business he would have more than likely be in a secure ward somewhere well out of the way of the public.

As it happens, Denholm isn't around to worry the world any more - he committed suicide by jumping out of the boardroom window when the 'adjustments' he had made to the company's pension scheme were discovered. He still pops up every now and again in his son's dreams.

Douglas Reynholm (Series 2-4)

Following his father's death, Douglas takes over the reigns at Reynholm Industries. He had been 'missing' for the previous seven years, following a 'delicate' court case... so it came as quite a shock to everyone when he burst in on his father's funeral.

Douglas is every bit as batty, loud and arrogant as his father, however he does seem more in touch with having fun. He certainly likes to chase women, and Jen soon finds herself as his number one target!

Although Jen clearly isn't interested, Douglas pursues her with a dogged determination. His motives are quite transparent though - for example when he comes down to the basement, he hasn't a clue which department he is in, and so cannot come up with a convincing excuse as to why he is there other than to chat up Jen.

With Douglas in charge, Reynholm Industries' days are likely to be numbered - it's clear that, unlike his dad, he doesn't have a clue about business and that another sexual harassment case is just around the corner.

Douglas suffers a string of self-inflicted calamities in series three: he shoots himself in the leg, dons a pair of electro shock therapy pants to control sexual desire and manages to reduce Reynholm Industries to near bankruptcy.

Richmond Avenal (Series 1-2 & 4)

Richmond is the rarely seen fourth member of the IT team. The dirty red door in the wall behind Roy's desk looks like a rather unassuming gateway to Dante's lower levels, but it in fact leads to a room containing a machine that no one quite understands. Richmond sits there alone memorising the light flashes it emits.

He is so isolated that it took Jen a long time to discover that he was working in the basement with them!

As Richmond rarely leaves the basement he has naturally very pale skin - which is ideal considering he is a goth. Richmond is a huge Cradle of Filth fan. However, when Richmond is invited to a dinner party by Jen he finds a girlfriend and starts making, noisy passionate love to her pretty much there and then!