Catherine Tate's Nan

Catherine Tate has written a film for Nan

Catherine Tate is ready to put The Catherine Tate Show to bed but can see a future for one of the show's most popular characters, Nan, on the big screen.

This past week saw Catherine Tate revive the character who first came to prominence for two self-contained episodes which to me felt like a bit of a test run to see if the public would take to a whole series. Based on the evidence of the two episodes that recently aired I would say a full series featuring Tate's Nan character would be extremely inconsistent. The stronger of the two most recent episodes saw Nan attend anger management classes after attacking a blind veteran who was collecting for charity. Although some of the insults Nan dishes out were fairly unfunny, the interplay between Tate and Warwick Davis' unfortunately named class leader Mr Fanee provided many highlights. The episode's final set piece also brilliantly brought together all the many elements of the instalment and was extremely funny. However there were very few highlights in the second episode Knees Up Wilmott Brown in which Nan found herself in a position of power when a property developer was keen to buy up all the flats in her block. Here the insults Nan gave were quite brutal and the constant references to Wilmott-Brown, a character who was in Eastenders over twenty-five years ago, felt very dated. Despite my reservations with both episodes I can't say I didn't laugh about Nan's obsession with Group On or the constant knockbacks she delivered to her amorous neighbour. Tate still gives her all to make the character as convincing as possible and when the gags are great, her delivery is top notch. However, there were too many times throughout the two episodes when the writers fell back on cheap cliches and petty insults which didn't appeal to me at all. Ultimately I do think there's room for a full series of Nan, however the writing has to be a lot sharper and the character needs to develop beyond just being a foul-mouthed, bigoted stereotype.

Catherine Tate served up too much of her sweary Nan

The foul-mouthed pensioner was as gloriously vitriolic as ever but the show ran out of steam by the end of the two-part special.

Review: Catherine Tate's Nan, BBC One

Nan is a brilliantly observed character, a game old bird who comes out with an occasional cracker.

Nan offends everyone - and viewers want another series

It's been a while since we have seen the outrageous pensioner that is Catherine Tate's Nan - but she hasn't lost any of her edge as we discovered when she reprised the role for a couple of episodes. But she has gone down so well with viewers that there could well be a new series on the cards.

Radio Times review

Ironically, the season of goodwill might be the only time of year you can get away with comedy as rude and crude as this. There's a panto atmosphere as Tate's misanthropic pensioner returns, in front of a live studio audience, for two new rampages.

Having beaten up a blind veteran in the street, Nan must complete an anger management class or go to prison. This doesn't stop her needling her therapist (Warwick Davis) and bullying the other members of the group. When Tate is on form she can wring a guilty laugh out of anyone; when she isn't and the script falls back on Nan just being nasty, it's the opposite of joyful.

Radio Times review

Hard times on Nan's estate: developers are circling, trying to evict tenants or buy off the luckier residents who, like Nan, own their flat. When the corporate vultures' oily representative Charles Willmott (Adam James) says she can make a bit of cash, she immediately moves to the dark side: "We're bringing in a new breed of residents. The fashionistas. Russian oligarchs. Frank Lampard."

But Nan and "Wilmott-Brown" are, of course, destined to fall out. It's so much more satisfying to see Catherine Tate's creation turn her ire on someone who deserves it: that, and a riotous scene where Nan farts luxuriously on live television, compensate for some gratuitously offensive jokes.

Catherine Tate's Nan preview

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 10 years since Joannie Taylor better known as Nan, first burst onto our screens in The Catherine Tate Show.

Nan character accuses Muslim man of being ISIS bomber

Catherine Tate's character Nan is set to accuse a man of being an Islamist bomber in the Christmas special.