Beautiful People
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two
- 2008 - 2009
- 12 episodes (2 series)
Sitcom about the young family life of window-dresser Simon Doonan, based upon the memoirs of the fashionista of the same name. Stars Olivia Colman, Meera Syal, Aidan McArdle, Luke Ward-Wilkinson, Layton Williams and more.
Streaming rank this week: 1,115
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 6 - How I Got My Globe
Further details
Manhattan 2008 and Simon is homesick. He turns to the plastic London skyline of his snow globe and thinks of home.
The narrative switches from New York 'now' to Reading 'then' (1997), where Simon and Kyle are transfixed by their bohemian teacher, Miss Prentice, and her love of exotic cigarettes, French lovers and her understanding of the 'beautiful people'. When she returns to 'The Smoke', a distraught Simon and Kylie decide to follow her. Will they find a real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 6th November 2008
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- BBC Two
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Olivia Colman | Debbie Doonan |
| Meera Syal | Aunty Hayley |
| Aidan McArdle | Andy Doonan |
| Luke Ward-Wilkinson | Simon Doonan |
| Layton Williams | Kyle |
| Sophie Ash | Ashlene Doonan |
| Sarah Niles | Reba |
| Samuel Barnett | Adult Simon |
| Gary Amers | Sacha |
| Frances Barber | Miss Prentice |
| Sebastian Abineri | Francois |
| James Biddlecombe | Larry |
| Kate McGeever | Sheila-Galesha |
| Jonathan Harvey | Writer |
| Gareth Carrivick | Director |
| Justin Davies | Producer |
| Jon Plowman | Executive Producer |
| Mark Lawrence | Editor |
| Dennis De Groot | Production Designer |
Video
Muscial Number
Another camp musical number from Beautiful People.
Featuring: Luke Ward-Wilkinson (Simon Doonan), Layton Williams (Kyle) & Frances Barber (Miss Prentice).
Press
Sometimes you just have to admit you were wrong. And, as Beautiful People limed to a disappointing conclusion, the bloom had well and truly left the cheeks of Jonathan Harvey's saga of a high camp Reading childhood.
So forget all the praise I'd heaped on it back in the beginning because all the decent jokes and imaginative set pieces got used up in the first two episodes. After that point, it went downhill quicker than Jonathan Ross's bargaining power at the BBC.
Even the arrival of Frances Barber as a madly bohemian teacher couldn't rescue Beautiful People's decline into limp-wristed cliché. Quite why Barber, an actress who could turn the weather forecast into a Greek tragedy, isn't a major star is just one of life's inexplicable injustices.
Keith Watson, Metro, 7th November 2008Although it's not been universally loved, the humour, music, characters, performances and classic lines ('she loved watermelooooooon' etc) have gained it a loyal and devoted audience. OK, so its '90s references aren't all that accurate (perhaps it's not considered 'period' enough to have a proper continuity team; perhaps they just didn't think continuity mattered that much) but that's generally forgivable when the show has so much energy and fun.
Low Culture, 6th November 2008Jonathan Harvey's sitcom bows out with a guest appearance from Frances Barber as a new teacher at school, while young Simon and Kylie attempt to leave Reading behind to join the beautiful people in London. While each episode of this series has had bad patches, at its best it's been beautifully observed and frequently uproarious. Let's hope life in 1997 Reading isn't over quite yet, as a second series would be most welcome.
Scott Matthewman, The Stage, 3rd November 2008