Absolutely (TV series)

Recurring characters

• Stoneybridge Town Council are the council of the fictional small Scottish town of Stoneybridge. Originally meant to be a one-off mocking the plague of promotional videos and adverts done by many British towns during the 1980s and 1990s, the characters proved so popular that they snowballed into a regular parody of small town and village councils run by the parochial minded with jarring grandiose aspirations for themselves and the people they are trying to serve.
• Frank Hovis is a character described as a club host, who first appeared in series three in a series of monologues, which he self-titled as "On the Lavatory with Frank Hovis". These were set in an unpleasant toilet cubicle with no toilet paper, where Frank would draw upon his own personal experiences in a slurred northern English accent, usually involving toilet humour. Outside of Absolutely, Hovis featured in his own panel game show for BBC Wales entitled Pub Quiz.
• McGlashan was an extreme Scottish nationalist and playwright, who frequently espoused anglophobia.
• Calum Gilhooley is introduced as the most boring man in the world. He talks endlessly about his anorak and Suzuki motorbikes.
• Denzil and Gwynedd sketches are Welsh DIY enthusiasts, but without the skill to match - who later reappeared post-Absolutely in Barry Welsh is Coming. Some of their TV sketches had Welsh subtitles, and the two characters spoke cod-Welsh or English with exaggerated Welsh accents.
• The Little Girl would describe a topic such as death, dentists or the government in an overexcited bluster. The sketches often ended with her exclaiming, "It is, it's true!" Morwenna would later perform this character once after she was hired on Saturday Night Live.
• The Nice Family was a parody of a straight-laced family, none of which have names, but are referred to by their titles of "Father", "Mother", "Eldest son", "Daughter", "First twin" and "Second twin". The Father was the dominating figure of the family, with everyone else looking exactly like him, wearing beige jumpers, white collar shirts, brown ties, brown slacks and black shoes.
• George and Donald McDiarmid were a surreal duo who would appear in almost every episode. George McDiarmid was dressed in a black pinstripe suit and tie, while Don McDiarmid was dressed in tweed, a bow tie, and an unusual pair of glasses with one lens at a right angle. The two characters would go on to get their own sit-com Mr Don & Mr George.
• Peter and Jennifer Wells were a couple introduced in series two, who were keen to support charities, but often let their own prejudices get in the way.
• Bert Bastard is an old man who was very rude and profane. Bert is very feeble and not able to perform many day-to-day tasks such as cooking and eating.
• The Musical Sections featured in every episode, but by series two Baikie developed a character of a smug piano man - Mr Muzak. The piano player would often be used to link sketches together by playing his piano across the set. Another regular musical character was created in series four - The Laughing Man who had the habit of laughing at not very amusing bumper stickers and signs.
• Gwyn is a Welshman who would often give monologues to camera. Gwyn suffered from a constant nervous twitch which resulted in his body shaking all over the place and whistling while he talked. The character was first performed by Sparkes when he performed stand-up comedy before Absolutely. Gwyn reappeared in Sparkes' post-Absolutely series, Barry Welsh is Coming.

  History

Television

• Series 1: Six episodes transmitted between 23 May 1989 and 27 June 1989
• Series 2: Eight episodes transmitted between 22 August 1990 and 10 October 1990
• Series 3: Eight episodes transmitted between 17 May 1991 and 5 July 1991
• Series 4: Six episodes transmitted between 22 January 1993 and 26 February 1993

Radio

Live