History Characters / TheBrittasEmpire

** Whilst Laura was pretty close management-wise to Brittas, being his Deputy Manager Dry, Penny simply runs the Solarium and Sauna, which being a privatised business, meant that she got less screentime with Brittas.
** Whilst Laura has her snarky moments in dealing with Brittas and she does seem to think of him as a bit of an idiot, she was also shown to hold great affection and even romantic feelings towards him, and usually tried to help him. Contrast with Penny, who makes it clear from the start how much she hated Brittas and is even willing to insult his appearance.

* TheGhost: After Series 5, presumably due to his actor's father (co-creator Andrew Norriss) leaving the show.

* OutOfFocus: His only relevance to the plot in Series 7 is when the water pistol that Helen gives him is mistaken for a real gun in "Reviewing the Situation", and he's almost never mentioned otherwise. Even his sisters get more importance, their paternity being a major part of "Curse of the Tiger Women". That said, considering his age, it's likely that his lack of relevance may come from him possibly now going to school or playgroup during the events of each episode.

* TheGhost: They're mentioned a lot, but only very rarely appear in the flesh, although Emily can be seen being put in a drawer in "Mr. Brittas Changes Trains" and both show up in "UXB".

* TheGhost: Gets a few mentions after his only appearance on the show.

* TheGhost: He's mentioned several times after "The Elephant's Child", but never appears in the flesh.

* SatelliteFamilyMember: Although Series 4 and 5 suggests that he might be a DumbassTeenageSon, he is given no concrete personality other than being one of Brittas' stepchildren, although he helps set up two separate subplots involving his mother Helen in Series 5.

* SatelliteFamilyMember: Whilst "Back from the Dead" suggests that he might be unbothered by death in spite of his age, he is given no personality otherwise outside of the fact that he is one of Brittas' stepchildren.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** It isn't mentioned what happened to him and his brothers while Brittas was dead and Helen was in a mental institution between "The Last Day" and "Back with a Bang".
** While most of the fates of the characters are revealed in "In the Beginning...", it's never explained what happened to him and his brothers in the future.

* MamaBear:

* {{Flanderization}}: Up to Series 5, he was largely depicted as a normal kid, with his violent traits either being minor jokes or more typical for his age. Come Series 6 and he's a borderline EnfantTerrible, with most references to him being him committing something violent like dangling his teacher out of a window. That said, this is reversed in Series 7, with the worst thing he did there being to squirt people with a water gun in "Reviewing the Situation".

* SuperStrongChild: Manages to close a cupboard door despite being only about a couple of months old at best in "Set In Concrete", is capable of easily climbing around the air ducts of the centre as a three-year-old in Series 4, and manages to dangle his teacher out of a window off-screen in "Mr. Brittas Falls In Love" despite still being a young child.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Up until Series 6, the worst thing he did was calling his mother a "poohead" in "The Lies Have It". Come Series 6 and we are treated to such acts from him such as him dangling a teacher out of a window, biting and threatening other children, and being implied to have lopped off the hand of a children's entertainer.
* TookALevelInKindness: After being an EnfantTerrible in Series 6, the worst thing he does in Series 7 is the more normal activity of simply squirting his mother and Colin in "Reviewing the Situation".

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Never mentioned again after "The Christening", not even to make an appearance at Brittas' funeral.

* BlackmailBackfire: After Brittas breaks his sponsored silence in front of him in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape", hetries to blackmail Brittas, offering to not tell anyone that he saw him break the silence as long as Brittas allows him to see Laura. Brittas isn't having any of it, however, being unwilling to lie, and he doesn't allow him to do so. For bonus points, Brittas himself then proceeds to reveal to everyone that the silence is over.

* {{Dismotivation}}: Whenever given a duty by Brittas.
* DisappearedDad: His father is never mentioned, and with "Reviewing the Situation" revealing his real last name as Göebbels and that his family can be traced back from Eastern Germany, this leads to FridgeHorror.

* FlatCharacter: We don't get to learn about her very much, not helped by the fact that most of her time is spent consoling Helen. Tellingly, "Snap Happy", which has Helen away from the centre for the majority of the episode, barely features her.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Introduced after Laura left and fulfilled the OnlySaneEmployee and TheConfidant roles left behind by her.

* WomenAreWiser: To Brittas, much like Laura before her.

* PassedInTheirSleep: According to Helen in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P.", this is how he died, with her finding him dead in his kennel.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He's only ever referred to as either "Dad" or "Jim" in "Mums and Dads", but ''Gordon Brittas: Sharing the Dream'' reveals that "Jim" is short for James.

* ReallyGetsAround: His initial relationship with Laura ended when she caught her cheating on him. In her conversation with him in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape", Laura points out that he had a habit of fooling around with other woman and had hoped he would have changed upon marriage.

* SatelliteFamilyMember: They do set up the plots of "The Christening" and "We All Fall Down", but have no personality beyond being Brittas' twin sons, although it might be jusitifed by the fact that they're still toddlers by the end of the series.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** It isn't mentioned what happened to them and their brothers while Brittas was dead/in hospital and Helen was in a mental institution between "The Last Day" and "Back with a Bang".
** While most of the fates of the characters are revealed in "In the Beginning...", it's never explained what happened to them and their brothers in the future.

* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: Subverted at first - being a child services agent, he does try to force Carole's children away from her, but he was running on the valid concern that she was raising them in the leisure centre, and he was kind enough to offer her a job after listening to their singing. However, "Back with a Bang" has her back to living in the centre after he ran off with a nun, with no indication that he made any efforts to prevent her children from returning to a potentially unstable life in the leisure centre.

* SatelliteFamilyMember: He's the culmination of hs father Michael's SeriesGoal of getting his mother Laura pregnant and is the reason why Laura is PutOnABus, but he doesn't get much characterisation in his one appearance on-screen beyond being TheWatson.

* TheGhost: After his birth in "The Elephant's Child".

* LikeFatherLikeSon: Much like his mother, he seems to be uninterested with schoolwork.

* AMFMCharacteterization: When talking about the Music/NeilSedaka tape that he once gifted Helen in ''Gordon Brittas: Sharing the Dream'', Brittas mentions that Helen's favourite songs on it are "Litte Devil", "King of Clowns", "One Night Stand", "Solitaire", and "Our Last Song Together", referencing how she is a sexually promiscuous but depressed woman who wants nothing more than to get away from Brittas, not that he completely realises.

* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: With Brittas - "Sex, Lies and Red Tape" reveals that even though he's a complete idiot who ruins everything, she still understands how he actually cares for and wants to help people succeed in their goals.

* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Raised in cupboards and drawers in his infancy and early childhood, which is not developmentally good for him as the others point out and seemingly confirmed by Series 6 when he becomes an EnfantTerrible. This is not getting into the time that Carole almost roasted him in his drawer.

* TookALevelInKindness: After being an EnfantTerrible in Series 6, the worst thing he does in Series 7 is the more typical activity of squirting his mother and Colin in "Reviewing the Situation".

* InnocentBlueEyes: "Curse of the Tiger Women" mentions that they have blue eyes. Makes sense, seeing as they are the young and innocent twin daughters of Carole.

* SatelliteFamilyMember: Their birth is used to set up paternity drama relating to their parents Brittas and Carole, but they themselves get little characterisation, although "We All Fall Down" implies that they might have started gaining the same BrattyHalfPint tendencies as their brother. May be justified by the fact that they're only three by the end of the series.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: So where did they and the rest of their family stay for the week while the centre was being computerised in "[=http://etc=]"?

** Whilst she jokes with Gavin about Ben being raised by mice in "Set In Concrete", she relents when she sees Carole affected and reassures her that she was simply joking.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Julie may be a {{Jerkass}} and hate Brittas, but even she thinks that Drugget's attempt to get rid of Brittas in "Curse of the Tiger Women" is too harsh.

* {{Foil}}: To Brittas and Helen's twins, Matthew and Mark, being a set of Brittas-fathered twins of opposite gender to each other.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: Apparently look close enough to Gordon Brittas in profile that it makes Carole figure out that he's their father in "Curse of the Tiger Woman".

* MindControlMusic: "Brussels Calling" shows he can lure rats with the music he plays.

* TheVoiceless: In Series 1-5, he never speaks at all - even in scenes where the opportunity for him to speak is given, it's usually drowned out, like via Carole's singing in "UXB". He gains a couple of lines in Series 6 however, ironic seeing as he becomes TheGhost in the process.

* BellyButtonless: After his surgery in "Back with a Bang", he lacks a belly-button.

* BadassAdorable: Helps Brittas escape the collapsing leisure centre in "High Noon".

* BrattyHalfPint: Has a history of biting other children and throwing tantrums.

* EarlyPersonalitySigns: As the show goes on, Ben grows to prefer moving around in cramped spaces to open spaces, even moving around the vents of the centre because it makes him happy. Come "In the Beginning..." and it is shown that his love of cramped spaces persisted into his adulthood, as he now has a career working in submarines, although Carole never makes the connection.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Canonically, his surname is "Featherly", but some fans spell it as "Featherleigh" instead. It's especially weird considering the fact that a Series 7 episode is called "Gavin '''Featherly''' R.I.P.".

** She is horrified at the fact that she's pregnant again in "Assassin", commenting that she only had Ben six weeks ago.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Canonically, her name is "Carole", but it has been frequently misspelt by other sources as "Carol". Even the Series 5 boxset gets in on the action.

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Held romantic feelings for Laura from Series 3 to 5, but from his side, his loyalty to Helen and the fact that romantic rival Michael T. Farrell III showed up just as he was beginning to realise them proved a hindrance. Ultimately falls on "They Don't" as Laura hooks up with Michael in the end.

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Held feelings for Brittas from Series 3 to Series 5, but from her side, Brittas' obnoxious behaviour proved to be the hindering factor. Ultimately falls on "They Don't" as Michael T. Farrell III wins her back.

* RememberTheNewGuy: Julie shows up with no explanation in Series 2. The 1994 Christmas special "In the Beginning..." acts like Julie had been with the centre from the start.

* SassySecretary: Brittas' secretary who never stops putting him down.

* TheGhost: After "Laying the Foundations".

* FlatCharacter: Really her role could have been filled by any neighbour character and there'd be no difference.

* EarlyPersonalitySigns: As the show goes on, Ben grows to prefer moving around in cramped spaces, even moving around the vents of the centre because it makes him happy. Come "In the Beginning..." and it is shown that his love of cramped spaces persisted into his adulthood, as he now has a career working in submarines, although Carole never realises this.

* InnocentBlueEyes: "Curse of the Tiger Women" mentions that they have blue eyes in keeping with their status as the young innocent twin daughters of Carole.

* {{Retcon}}: Before Series 5, Jessica was a boy named Tom. Additionally, Series 1 implies that their father was Mr. Wilson, Carole's former CrankyLandlord, rather than Brittas as confirmed in the later series.

* SatelliteCharacter: Their birth is used to set up paternity drama relating to Brittas and Carole, but they themselves get little characterisation outside the implication that they may be developing the same BrattyHalfPint tendencies as their brother.

* SatelliteCharacter: Much like their half-brothers, they don't have any characterisation other than being the twin sons of Helen and Brittas, although they do set up the plots of "The Christening" and "We All Fall Down".

* SatelliteCharacter: Outside of being Julie's baby, he has no characterisation whatsoever.

Brittas' eldest stepson. Only onscreen appearance was from far away in "Laying the Foundations".

* DumbassTeenageSon: Mention is made of him doing [=GCSE=]s in Series 5, placing him around 14-16 at this point. He's also apparently failing them, with his mother doing (and failing) his schoolwork for him, and he apparently decided to eat a dead crab that he found on the beach in "Shall We Dance?", leading to him puking.
* TheFaceless: His only onscreen appearance in "Laying the Foundations" was from a distance and hard to tell which one was him.

* TheGhost: After "Laying the Foundations".

* SatelliteCharacter: Although he is used in Series 5 to set up several plots involving Helen, he doesn't get much characterisation outside of the implication that he might be a DumbassTeenageSon.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** It isn't mentioned what happened to him and his brothers while Brittas was dead and Helen was in a mental institution between "The Last Day" and "Back with a Bang".
** While most of the fates of the characters are revealed in "In the Beginning...", it's never explained what happened to him and his brothers in the future.

* SatelliteCharacter: Getting no personality beyond being Brittas' stepchild, unlike Jonathan, he doesn't even get to start up any plots, although he is hinted at to be fairly unbothered by death. Still a better showing than their other step-brother, who doesn't even get a name and who may have been retconned out by Series 4.

* SassySecretary: Brittas' first secretary who never stopped making sarcastic comments.

* FlatCharacter: Has no role past AudienceSurrogate in his only appearance in "In the Beginning...".

* DumbassTeenageSon: Mention is made of him doing [=GCSE=]s in Series 5, placing him around 14-16 at this point. He also seems to be more interested in getting his mother to do his schoolwork for him and apparently decided to eat a dead crab that he found on the beach in "Shall We Dance?", leading to him puking.

* LikeFatherLikeSon: Much like his mother, he seems to have difficulty with schoolwork.

* AbusiveParents: "Mums and Dads" reveals that she and her husband made Carole quit her dreams of becoming a piano player and instilled in her a StayInTheKitchen attitude.

* UncertainDoom: The last we hear of her that isn't in the context of how she raised Carole, she's gone back into the hospital after her hip replacement had failed, leaving it unclear whether she survived. Not helping matters is Carole mentioning the existence of a stepmother in Series 2, suggesting that her father remarried possibly in the wake of her death.

* ShipTease: Has had several hints towards an attraction to Julie.