Pull the other one...
The Brockmans are back! Reuniting for a one-off Outnumbered Christmas special – or could it be for good?
Nicky Johnston
- Huw Fullerton
Add Outnumbered to your watchlist
Ad
It’s tricky getting family together for Christmas. Which might be why, when RT reunites the cast of Outnumbered for our “then and now” photoshoot, they’re yet to film their upcoming festive special. In fact, our shoot is the first time they have all been together in years – although that doesn’t stop the “kids” casually referring to their on-screen parents Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis as “Mum” and “Dad” in conversation.
It feels apt for the Brockmans to be leaving everything to the last minute. Over five series of the BBC sitcom (plus specials) from 2007 to 2016, viewers fell in love with the ordinary yet chaotic family – and the three young actors, who were kept off-script so they could deliver more authentic performances.
When the shoot for the original family photograph (below) took place in 2008, Ramona Marquez was six, Daniel Roche was eight and Tyger Drew-Honey was 13. Reading the accompanying interview now, however, Drew-Honey is baffled. “It says I’d like to be an actor, but if it doesn’t pan out, then I’ll probably do a degree in criminology and join the police force,” he mutters, as his on-screen siblings and parents laugh. “But I can’t remember a time when I ever wanted to do any of that!”
With all three “kids” now in their 20s, their characters, Karen, Ben and Jake, have likewise grown up and moved out. “Pete and Sue have downsized and are finally living a peaceful life – but in reality they miss the kids,” explains Skinner, now 58. “And they are also – marvellously – grandparents!”
The cast of Outnumbered in 2008. BBC
“We’re just very keen, as all parents are, to get our kids back for the festive occasion,” adds Dennis, 62. He has two children in real life, as does Skinner, so speaks from experience. “The dynamic changes. You spend your whole life managing your children – and then after a certain age, you’re aware your children are managing you!” Getting the Brockman family back together for this special episode proved to be surprisingly easy. Ironically, after they stopped playing a couple on TV, Dennis and Skinner have now become a couple in real life. “Claire and I see each other, quite a lot, certainly,” deadpans Dennis, deftly deflecting any questions about his personal life. “Every now and then,” laughs Marquez.
F or 28-year-old Drew-Honey, who plays sardonic eldest child Jake, it was an “instantaneous yes – I started crying when I got the email, I was that happy.”
Marquez and Roche, now 22 and 25, were also keen. Unlike their “big brother”, who has carried on acting, the pair had largely left showbiz behind, but both are now hoping to get back in the game. “I was a big teenager, and there wasn’t much work coming through for that,” admits Roche, who instead focused on rugby, playing for King’s College London while he was a student there.
“It’s been nice to get back into it,” Marquez adds. “But it’s also nice to have that time to explore other things and then have it be a choice, rather than it being something I’ve always done – since I was five!”
“In a rather paternal way, I have sort of kept an eye on what they’re doing,” Dennis says. “And now you’re grown up – you are you, now, aren’t you?” he adds looking at the “kids”, with a touch of emotion. “It is fantastic to watch, and has made me hope we might do more… but perhaps we should quit while we’re ahead. And anyway, I’m giving up acting.” The others stop talking, surprised. “Because I’ve decided to do a degree in criminology.”
Ad
The kids groan and laugh, and start talking between themselves, interview forgotten. Squint, and it almost looks like a family photo.
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.
Ad
Ad
Subscribe for £1 per week
Too much to watch this autumn? Let Radio Times magazine and app do the choosing, with expert picks across TV, streaming and film.
Loading...
Ad
Loading...