Haven't they grown...
Outumbered’s creators on their little darlings today
Nicky Johnston
- Huw Fullerton
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Of course, Gavin & Stacey is not the only noughties sitcom making a comeback this Christmas. Eight years after its last episode, family comedy Outnumbered is also returning to BBC1. And those cute little Brockman kids are definitely all grown up now…
“We always said we’d catch up with this family further down the line,” series co-creator Andy Hamilton tells RT. “And with a big gap, then it’s a proper change. The interaction between parents and adult children is very different.
“In particular, adult Christmasses with family are difficult because everyone has lives. When they’re kids, they go where you go. Getting everyone together becomes a problem in itself!”
Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner. Nicky Johnston
When the series began in 2007, the kids playing the chaotic younger Brockmans — Ramona Marquez as Karen, Daniel Roche as Ben and Tyger Drew-Honey as Jake — were six, eight and 11, overseen by parents Pete and Sue (Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner). Now, the three young actors are 23, 25 and 28, shaking up the dynamic on and off the camera.
Fortunately, they've all turned into really good actors
Guy Jenkins, Co-creator
“It’s very different,” Hamilton’s co-creator Guy Jenkin agrees. “When we started working with them, Ramona and Dan were partly just living the experience. It wasn’t quite like acting. But fortunately, they’ve all turned into really good actors. Now we’re giving them notes that we used to give Hugh and Claire.”
Although that doesn’t mean the show’s trademark, semi-improvised child performances are gone for ever — because this is also Outnumbered: the Next Generation, with Skinner and Dennis’s characters now grandparents to a little girl.
“We always used to say as a joke that we’d do this until the children had children,” Jenkin laughs. “But now we’ve actually done it!”
Daniel Roche and Tyger Drew-Honey. Nicky Johnston
“The little girl we’ve just been filming with is four, playing a three-year-old,” adds Hamilton. “Which is actually slightly younger than any of the original cast were.”
Thus far, they’re keeping schtum about which of the younger Brockmans has become a parent — but is it a sign that Outnumbered could return again with this new generation?
Ramona Marquez and Daniel Roche. Nicky Johnston
“We might get another idea,” says Jenkin. “But we wanted to make this a really special event. Having waited eight years, hopefully everybody will be very curious to see where this family they grew up with ended up.”
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He laughs and adds: “You can hold this against us when we come back next year!”
Authors
Huw FullertonCommissioning editor
Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.
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