History Characters / TheBrittasEmpire

* ButtMonkey: Over the course of the series Brittas had been hit by a treacle lorry, crushed inside a car, attacked with a dead eagle, had his feet set in concrete, electrocuted, dragged by an ostrich, punched in the face by Gavin, crushed to death by a water tank, nearly frozen alive, forcibly baptized, fallen in elephant dung, shot by Julie's bodyguard and attacked by an angry goose.

** Also has a tendency to make exaggerated hand gestures when explaining things as well.

* OopNorth: The only Northerner in the centre aside from Julie.

* OopNorth: The only Northerner in the centre aside from Colin.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Nowhere to be seen during Brittas' funeral in "The Last Day".

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Jim doesn't regard himself highly, seeing himself as a failure and feeling like he has wasted his life.

* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Jim has a rather low opinion of himself and sees himself as a failure, which is the complete opposite of his son Gordon's unshakable high self-confidence.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Attempts this in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape" so he can visit Laura at work.

* SmugSnake: In Brittas' eyes.

Brittas and Helen's twins. Born at the end of Series 3. Played by Alexander Mallen and Jack Thorpe Baker in Series 3.

* TheGhost: One of them never appears on-screen, whilst the other two make a very brief appearance at the beginning of "Laying the Foundations" before disappearing off-screen for the rest of the series.

* AscendedExtra: The only non-main cast staff member to stay after most of them disappeared around Series 3 or 4.

* 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 this love persisted into his adulthood, as he now has a career working in submarines, although Carole never makes the connection.

* 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 are only three by the end of the series.

* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: Inverted - despite being born at the end of Series 2, which is implied to take place around nine months after the centre opens, the final episode establishes them as having only recently turned three, which is also the same episode that has the centre celebrate its seventh anniversary.

* CharacterisationMarchesOn: When it initially came to her habit of keeping children in drawers, Carole in Series 1 and 2 seemed to be aware that this wasn't the best idea for them, appearing embarrassed at having to do so in "Bye Bye Baby" and admitting to Julie in one of her more confident phases that Ben would be better out of the drawer than in them. By Series 4 and 5, this awareness had vanished, and she was depicted as finding it a perfectly acceptable method of raising children, much to her detriment in "The Chop" and "UXB". The fact that her children don't seem affected by this beyond a dislike for open spaces (at least until they TookALevelInJerkass in Series 6) may have something to do with this.
She was also much more of a ShrinkingViolet in Series 1 compared to later on.

* InterspeciesFriendship:
** In "Set in Concrete", he ends up becoming friends with a mouse that had made it into his cupboard, much to Carole's horror.
** According to Carole, he's friends with a dog at the kennels he's held in throughout "Surviving Christmas".

* AMFMCharacterization: "Laying the Foundations" shows he has a love for marching band music, matching his officious and by-the-rules personality.

* CharacterisationMarchesOn: At first, Carole hated having to keep Ben in a drawer, but by Series 4 she had moved him to the cupboard and lets him crawl in the ventilation ducts because it makes him happy. She was also much more of a ShrinkingViolet in Series 1 compared to later on.

* SeriesGoal:
** In "The Stuff of Dreams", it's to open a gun shop in Oregon with her brother. This annoys Brittas as he had been hoping that she would take over the centre when he retired.
** By "UXB", it had changed to become being the first female Archdeacon, with Linda referencing several times after this reveal her intent to go to Theological college to achieve this.

* FirstNameBasis: Whilst he is usually on LastNameBasis with his staff, he sometimes insists on being called his first name, such as when he's trying to pass Laura off as his wife in "Mr. Brittas Changes Trains" and when he's training Gavin in "The Boss".

* UninvitedToTheParty: It's a RunningGag in Series 6 that the reason he doesn't appear in events such as Dolphin Day or World Peace and Hunger Week is because of something violent he did off-screen causing Brittas to not extend an invitation to him. The pirate entertainer in "Snap Happy" tries to do the same to Ben regarding a pirate themed party, only for Carole to guilt-trip him into allowing Ben in after all, telling him that by not allowing him in, he would be giving Ben a start in paranoia.

* TheVoiceless: The two never speak throughout the series.

* DisappearedDad: It is unknown what happened to their biological fathers beyond the fact that Helen divorced them

** {{Downplayed}} as she's shown to be more of a loving mother, but her habit of keeping children in drawers and cupboards have led to a child services agent trying to remove her children, and some of the things she does, such as putting her son in kennels, have raised some eyebrows.

* AccidentalMisnaming: Has a tendency to mispronounce Brittas' name as "MissBriss" and "Britts".
-->'''Roger Ferguson''': Hello, Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre? Yeah, can I speak to a Mr. Britts please? {{{Beat}}] Well, the woman in the reception told me it was Britts. ({{Beat}}) Brittas, all right, yeah, I'll hold.

** Her belief that Brittas had come BackFromTheDead in "Back From the Dead" left her only able walk around in a daze while mumbling "How can I help you... with a smile".

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Her and Gavin having a cigarette is interpreted by Brittas (overhearing them through his bug) as them having sex in "Temple of the Body".

* RoundhouseKick: She kicks Vlad in the face in a bid to prevent Brittas from seeing him in "At the Double".

* {{Foil}}: With Helen - whilst both her and Laura have close relationships to Brittas, Laura is the OnlySaneWoman whilst Helen is more AxCrazy and an AddledAddict. Fittingly, this causes some issue in their friendship.

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: The reason she initially married Brittas was because he stood up for her against an abusive boyfriend.

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: She varies from tragic-but-funny to completely self-involved.

* FlatCharacter: Gets little attention during her six-episode run.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: A variant in "Laying the Foundations", her response to seeing first-hand how much of an annoying git Brittas can be is to take to Carole's aspirin.

* OhCrap: Her reaction upon realising that she knocked out and made airborne Colin instead of Brittas in "Stop Thief!".

* WeHardlyKnewYe: Disappeared after six episodes.

* DartboardOfHate: Has one for Brittas in her locker, which she respectfully removes after his death in "The Last Day".

* InsuranceFraud: Helps Helen steal her own fur coat to get the insurance money in "The Elephant's Child".

* KissOfDistraction: She snogs Brittas as a form of distraction whilst Danny inserts a virus into the computer systems in "[=http://etc=]".

* TheLadette: Loves a good booze-up as shown in "UXB".
* LastMinuteBabyNaming: In "The Elephant's Child", she names her son after Gordon Colin Porter, after they helped assist in his birth.
* LazyBum: Refuses to write her report on Carole in "Reviewing the Situation", claiming she can't be fagged.
* LockedInAFreezer: In "In the Beginning...", she and the rest of the staff get trapped in the leisure centre with no food or electricity, but end up bonding together as a result of the experience.

* MaternityCrisis: Goes into labour in the centre's basement in the middle of the night in "The Elephant's Child".
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Saves a dog while naked offscreen in "Temple of the Body", which leaves her hounded by reporters.

* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Series 5 reveals that secretary isn't her only job - "The Lies Have It" starts when she recognises Helen at the restaurant she was working at, whilst "Pregnant!" had her engage in a sexual liaison with a man she met whilst working at a party for Conservatives.

* NoSympathy: When Drugget is dying and complaining of pains in front of her in "Curse of the Tiger Women", her response is to simply complain that he's always making it about himself and then asks him if she should marry Alex.
* NotHerself: She spends "Pregnant!" actually acting quite nice, a far cry from her usual role as the SassySecretary, which eventually turns out to be because a man which she had a sexual tryst with wants to see her.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Saves a dog from a river while naked in "Temple of the Body".

* {{Troll}}: She briefly decides to mess with Colin by claiming to see Brittas nearby after telling him that Brittas is in the building in "Biggles Tells a Lie".
* VomitDiscretionShot: She pukes into a bucket in Brittas' office in "Back with a Bang".

* WeNeedADistraction: She kisses Brittas to get him away from his computer in "[=http://etc=]" to give the staff time to mess with it.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: According to "At the Double", her full name is Penelope, but everyone just calls her Penny.

* HypnoFool: A trip to a hypnotist show in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains" leaves him badly needing to take a piss whenever he hears a bell ring.

* PottyEmergency: A trip to a hypnotist show in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains" leaves him badly needing to take a piss whenever he hears a bell ring. This causes havoc when he takes the bus to work.

Carole's son who lives in the cupboard at reception. Played by Phoebe Gilpin in Series 2 and Jonathon Norriss from Series 4 onwards.

* BigEater: He manages to eat ''27'' party bags in "Snap Happy".
* BigDamnHeroes: Arrives to save Brittas just as he was about to pass out in "High Noon".
* BigStupidDooDooHead: He calls Carole a "poo-head" in his birthday card to her because she didn't get him an air rifle in "The Lies Have It".
-->'''Michael''': No presents, cards?
-->'''Carole''': One. From Ben.
-->'''Michael''': "Happy birthday, poo-head".
-->'''Carole''': I won't buy him an air rifle, you see.

* ChocolateBaby: His father believes him to have been one after a misconception from Colin in "Bye Bye Baby".

* DemonicPossession: Carole and Colin believed that Brittas was doing this to him to get back to the land of the living in "Back From the Dead".

* EnfantTerrible: In Series 6, where he bites other children on such a regular basis that he's become TheDreaded, dangles people out of windows, and finds it perfectly acceptable to hold hostage girls for party bags.

* TheGhost: He gets several on-screen appearances, but for the most part, he's just an off-screen entity mentioned by Carole. It's most notable in Series 6, where he only appears on-screen as a brief glimpse of his head and an arm in "Snap Happy", but is otherwise more involved in plots than earlier on, to the point of getting his only audible line in "At the Double".

* SoulJar: Carole believes that Brittas has possessed him to regain his life in "Back From the Dead".

* SuddenlySpeaking: Despite being barely on-screen in Series 6 and 7, he actually becomes slightly more talkative, getting a line ("Oh no! I won't get it back!") in "At the Double" and can be heard calling out "Mumma!" at Carole in "The Elephant's Child".
* 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, manages to dangle his teacher out of a window off-screen in "Mr. Brittas Falls In Love" despite still being a young child and apparently mangles a child entertainer's hand with a Flymo (a brand of lawnmower) off-screen in "Snap Happy".

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

* VomitDiscretionShot: He pukes into the bag holding the photographer's film in "Snap Happy", although the audience only sees the bag being moved towards him and the sound of him puking.

* EnfantTerrible: Not to the same extent as their older half-brother, but "We All Fall Down" reveals that they have gained a habit of biting other children despite not even being three years of age.

* BlackmailBackfire: After Brittas breaks his sponsored silence in front of him in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape", he tries 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.

* CharacterDevelopment: He starts as a bit of a prick and seems to be only interested in Laura so that she can sire him a son and get him his inheritance. However, becoming broke humbles him and he grows to genuinely care for Laura. Fittingly, by the time of "In the Beginning...", it is implied that whilst their initial relationship ended in disaster, his second relationship with Laura stuck.

* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces: "Sex, Lies and Red Tape" reveals he and Laura once had sex in the back row of Sydney Opera House.
* MistakenForCheating: Brittas comes to the conclusion that he was out having an affair with a blonde woman at a restaurant in "The Lies Have It". In truth, there was an affair but it was actually between his own wife and John Rawlinson.

* SomethingWeForgot: The siege at the centre in "Not a Good Day..." is so dramatic that Brittas doesn't remember that he is still chained to a stair railing until Julie gives him the number to unlock the lock.

* TheGhost: He's mentioned several times after "The Elephant's Child", but never appears in the flesh. Even in "The Elephant's Child", he represented as a bundle of blankets.

[[folder:Jonathan Brittas]]
!!Jonathan Brittas
Brittas' eldest stepson. Only onscreen appearance might have been from far away in "Laying the Foundations".

* DisappearedDad: No mention is made of the whereabouts of his biological father, with Brittas being revealed in "New Generations" to be merely his stepfather.
* DumbassTeenageSon: Mention is made of him doing [=GCSE=]s in Series 5, placing him around 14-16 at this point. He's also getting his mother to (unsuccessfully) do them for him (although it isn't made clear if it's because he's lazy, busy, or genuinely struggling with them) 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. Then again, it could have been his other unnamed brother.
* TheFoodPoisoningIncident: He is left puking after eating dead crab during his trip in Cornwall in "Shall We Dance?".
* TheGhost: Never appears on-screen after "Laying the Foundations", although he and his brothers are mentioned from time to time.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Much like his mother, he seems to either be uninterested in or has trouble with schoolwork.
* SatelliteFamilyMember: Although Series 4 and 5 suggest 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.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Like his brothers, it isn't exactly made clear what happens to them when Brittas and Helen are away for extended periods of time, like in "Back with a Bang" and "In the Beginning..." although it is possible that he is being taken care of by a childminder. The FlashForward episode "In the Beginning" also doesn't explain what happens to him or his brothers in the future.

[[folder:Tom Brittas]]
!!Tom Brittas
Brittas' youngest stepson. Only onscreen appearance was from far away in "Laying the Foundations".

* DisappearedDad: No mention is made of the whereabouts of his biological father, with Brittas being revealed in "New Generations" to be merely his stepfather.
* TheFaceless: His only onscreen appearance in "Laying the Foundations" was from a distance and hard to tell which one was him.
* TheFoodPoisoningIncident: He is left puking after eating dead crab during his trip in Cornwall in "Shall We Dance?".
* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: Asks if a very wide and thin coffin would need to be constructed for his stepfather when he learns of his death in "Back from the Dead". Even Helen comments upon how strange it is coming from a young child.
* TheGhost: After "Laying the Foundations".
* OneSteveLimit: Before Series 5's {{Retcon}} changed him to a girl, Tom was also the name of one of Carole's children.
* SatelliteFamilyMember: Whilst "Back from the Dead" suggests that he might be unbothered by death in spite of his age, his only relevance comes from Helen wanting to look calm in front of his form teacher in "Safety First", and he gets no personality whatsoever otherwise.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Like his other brothers, it is left unclear what happens to him when his parents are away for long periods of time, such as in "Surviving Christmas" and his final fate in 2019 is left unsaid.

[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mrs. Parkinson]]
!!Mrs. Parkinson
Carole's sickly mother who tries to help her with her financial issues. Never shown on screen.
----

** Carole was abandoned by her husband and left homeless and is usually seen weeping in reception, although she does grow out of this.

* VagueAge: With the exception of Brittas (due to turn 37 by the final episode), Helen (40 by "Snap Happy"), and Gavin (36 by "Gavin Featherly R.I.P."), none of the ages of the staff are given. Colin is old enough to have what appears to be an adult child at least, whilst Laura is apparently younger than Brittas, but older than the majority of the staff.

* AbandonedCatchphrase: His tendency to talk about his Dream was for the most part ditched in Series 6 and 7, although it does briefly come up in "The Disappearing Act" and "Curse of the Tiger Women".

* AndThatLittleBoyWasMe: He tells Helen a story about how he used to give people sweets when he was a child to get them to like him in "Reviewing the Situation".
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': I remember when I was at school, my darlin', we had one little lad who always carried a bag o' sweeties around with 'im, and he always gave sweets to all the other boys and girls because he wanted them to be his friends, but do you think he could buy their friendship?
-->'''Helen''': No...
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': No. It didn't work for me then. ({{Beat}}) An' it's not goin' 'o work for you now.

* AnxietyDreams: In "The Stuff of Dreams", he has constant dreams that he is carrying a ball of light in the clouds, representing his own mortality.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: Frequently in ''Get Fit with Brittas'', a little known spin-off about Brittas teaching about the benefits of exercise.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In "[=http://etc=]", he mentions the centre's backup generator breaking down is as likely as him winning the lottery... which he had just won prior to the episode.

* CrashingDreams: "Curse of the Tiger Women" concludes with Brittas waking up on an ark that Colin has been secretly building in the car park of the leisure centre. After a moment, he's jolted out of the dream by Colin repeatedly calling "Tickets, please!" and realizes that he's been asleep on a train and that Colin is in fact the conductor, he's on his way to the interview for the job he's had throughout the series, and that every episode of the series has been a dream.

* {{Crossdressing}}: During his BlackLikeMe NoodleIncident in "The Chop".
* CrushingHandshake: After he is revived in "Back with a Bang", he is shown to have become so strong that a casual handshake from him causes Tim and Gavin to wince in pain and fall to the floor.
* {{Cyborg}}: Becomes one of these with his reconstruction in "Back with a Bang", having a lot of metallic and plastic parts placed inside him. One line even suggests he has a bionic butt. In spite of this, however, he outwardly looks the exact same.
* DaydreamSurprise: Wakes up from a fantasy about making out with Laura in "UXB".
* DeadHatShot: After being crushed to death by a falling water tank in "The Last Day", the only part of him that can still be seen is his tie sticking out from underneath.
* DeadPersonConversation: Colin thinks he's doing this with him by communicating with his spirit through the intercom in "Back From the Dead", unaware that he was alive and well the whole time.

* DelayedReaction:
** When Mr. Petrov introduces himself to him in "Mums and Dads", he continues ranting about how they can't have anyone in the centre right now because it's closed, before realising who he's talking to, leading to a somewhat embarrassed handshake.
** Tim makes a sarcastic comment about someone using all the pool floats to make a model of Atlantis in "[=http://etc=]", but Brittas doesn't automatically realise he's taking the piss and uses that as another example of why they need to use the computer to allocate floats, before giving a FlatWhat.
* DemonicPossession: Colin and Carole believed that he was doing this to get back to the land of the living in "Back From the Dead", first by using Carole, and then Ben's body as a vessel.

* DisguisedInDrag: There is a mention of a NoodleIncident in "The Chop" where Brittas seemed to resign, then went into the building disguised as a woman to highlight the sexism in the centre.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Julie makes out with him to distract him while Tim hacks into his computer in "[=http://etc=]".

* DogGotSentToAFarm: "Back with a Bang" reveals that Helen had told the children that he had gone off on a long holiday after his temporary death in "The Last Day".

* DramaticIrony:
** Although he believes that he's about to lose his job in "An Inspector Calls", he is comforted at least by the fact that he has a loving family and wife to come back home to. He's unaware that said wife is planning to leave him.
** In "New Generations", he talks about the importance of having the baby's father be at Carole's side, not aware that he himself is the father (and also not actually with her).
** In "Biggles Tells a Lie", he talks to Gavin about how a dirty magazine is bad as it would have somebody's daughter or somebody's wife etc, unaware that the copy he is holding contains a photo of his wife.

* DreamWithinADream: In the series finale, "Curse of the Tiger Women", he is knocked unconscious by an angry goose. He initially wakes up in Noah's Ark, with several of the female cast of the show stating that they've got to repopulate the world. After this, he then wakes up on his way to the interview for the centre, revealing that the entirety of the series was AllJustADream. Even weirder, he has mentioned having literal dreams earlier on in the series in episodes such as "The Stuff of Dreams" and "A Walk on the Wildside", leading to a dream within a dream within a dream scenario.
* DudeNotFunny: His jab against the Irish in "Laying the Foundations" causes a man to leave in disgust.

* EntertaininglyWrong: In "The Lies Have It", he figures out that everyone had been lying to him relating to the restaurant and thinks that the mystery man was... Michael T. Farrell with a mysterious blond, when it was actually Helen and John Rawlinson.

* TheExtremistWasRight: His frequent letters to the council to get a ladder capable of holding more people proves true when Councillor Dapping herself tries to use it and is sent crashing to the ground in "Safety First".
* AFatherToHisMen: One of his more positive traits is that he has been shown to care for his employees - he has been shown to praise the work that they do, it takes a lot of effort for him to fire them, and that's with heavy regret. He'll even sacrifice his life if his staff is put in danger, as seen in "The Last Day" and "High Noon".
* FeetFirstIntroduction: Our first indication that he is indeed still alive after being told he had died in "Back From the Dead" is when we see his feet coming out of his car.

* {{Foil}}: OneShotCharacter Alan Digby from "High Noon" is this to him. Whilst both were the leisure centre manager of Whitbury, Digby was slovenly and fairly hands-off with the role, in contrast to Brittas' more tidy and by-the-books personality.
* FollowInMyFootsteps: As the end of "The Stuff of Dreams" shows, he fully expects his newborn twins to take over his ideals and the centre when he reaches retirement age.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: With the exception of Colin, Laura, and Linda (and even then, Laura and Linda are occasionally frustrated with him), no one can stand to be around him. Notably, when Brittas is thought dead in "Back from the Dead", not even Colin was sad to see him go. However, this trait is slightly downplayed as the staff come to understand his more sympathetic side, to the point that his actual death in "The Last Day" is treated with sadness by everyone.

* GrievousHarmWithABody: Attacked by Mr. Wilmot with the body of his dead hawk after he accidentally helps set up the hawk's death in "An Inspector Calls".
* GroinAttack: Creator/LesleyJoseph gives him one for annoying her in "Gordon Works It Out" (an episode of the little known spin-off, ''Get Fit with Brittas'').
* GypsyCurse: Is cursed in "Curse of the Tiger Women" so that anyone who eats food made by him will die.

* HarmlessElectrocution: Is electrocuted when hooked up to Colin's waste disposal unit in "Playing With Fire", but aside from a few twitches, he is more or less fine.
* HarmlessFreezing: Is frozen almost to the point of becoming a HumanPopsicle in "In the Beginning...", but is at most a bit red-looking after being warmed up.
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: Although he is not necessarily an ''evil'' person, Laura is able to convince Mr. Silverman into temporarily hypnotizing Brittas into someone who is less of a git and more of a genuinely friendly person in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains".
* HelpingWouldBeKillstealing: He points this out to Colin in "UXB", noting that as he's leaving for Brussels and that there would be no one to help him, Colin would need to start solving his own problems. This does not end well.

* HighDiveHiJinks: "Snap Happy" reveals he once fell from the diving board at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre (the highest in the country), with the implication that several synchronized swimmers were at least injured as a result.
-->'''Helen''': Ever since our honeymoon, two weeks for the price of one at the Holiday Inn, Croydon. Gordon said he wanted to be there so he could see the diving board at the Crystal Palace Sports Centre. Apparently, it's the highest in the country. There we were, right at the top, Gordon saying you just got to admire the cantilever tip-up seating system and their digital lane timers when suddenly he slipped - I think it was his Hush Puppies - and I just froze. I can see it now... standing at the top... peering over... Gordon hurtling through space... those synchronised swimmers as small as ''dots'' below.
* HumanDoorstop: Julie, taking his advice on doing moderate exercise, uses the opportunity to use him as a human exercise step in "Gordon Works It Out".
* HumanPopsicle: Briefly becomes one in "In the Beginning..." when he attempts to escape the snowed-in leisure centre.

* IWillOnlySlowYouDown: Although Laura and Colin try to save him from the collapsing leisure centre in "High Noon", he tells them to go on without him and save themselves.
* KickedOutOfHeaven: He barely makes it into Heaven after he is killed [[HeroicSacrifice saving Carole from a falling water tank]] in "The Last Day". However, it doesn't take very long before his obnoxious personality takes its toll there and he is returned back to Earth for the next 50 years. He is of course not told this, being told instead that he has been given another opportunity to pursue his Dream of uniting the world through sports.

* ALessonLearnedTooWell: Laura tries to teach him about the importance of subtext in "Set in Concrete", which seems to work when he figures out, with the help of Laura, that Helen didn't want his gift after all. Then, he starts thinking that subtext applies to literally every conversation, ending with him asking the stonemason if he doesn't like his work because it's not for the intelligent.

* ListOfTransgressions: Has quite [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist a long list]] when he turns up in Heaven in "The Last Day" including [[ComedicSociopathy 115 separate acts of manslaughter]], [[DrivenToSuicide cause of 4 suicides]], and [[BreakTheCutie 23 people driven clinically insane]]. They'd been counting up a while before he arrived too. Luckily for Brittas, he gets in any way due to a HeroicSacrifice performed just beforehand.
* LoadBearingHero: Gets trapped under a roof beam which allows the rest of the staff to escape the collapsing centre in "High Noon".
* LookBothWays: "Assassin" reveals he has a nasty habit of going on to the street without looking both ways (out of the belief that the pedestrian always has the right of way). This ends up biting him in the butt when he gets run over by a treacle lorry and put into intensive care.

* NasalTrauma:
** He ends up with a plaster and blood on his nose after being attacked by expectant mothers in "That Creeping Feeling".
** In "Pregnant!", Gavin punches across the face hard enough that blood starts coming out across his nose.
* NearDeathExperience: Is left in hospital hooked up to life support in "Assassin" after he is hit by a treacle lorry.

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: He does not like the fact that Michael paid for the synchronized trampolines from his own wallet in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape", because it removes the challenge and opportunity for team bonding from fundraising.
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': We were goin' to work for that trampoline ourselves, penny by penny! And in the process, we were gonna bring people into the centre, we were gonna be drawn closer together ourselves, we were gonna work as a team. And then when we got the trampoline, we could say that it was ours, bought with the the sweat of our brow, and every time we saw someone bouncing up and down on it, we'd say, "We got it! That's our trampoline!". An' now we can't, we'll just think some rich Yank came in and bought it for us.

* NotSoAboveItAll: He may not believe that lies are good in any capacity, but when Stephanie reveals how much of an inspiration he is to both Colin and her in "Biggles Tells a Lie", even he caves in and keeps the lie going.
* NotWearingPantsDream: Briefly mentions a history of having these in the "Curse of the Tiger Women".
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': It's like I'm having a terrible dream. Only, I know I'm not dreaming, I've still got my trousers on.

* ObliviousToLove: Despite getting a BigDamnKiss from Laura in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape", he is confused by her actions and outright asks Helen if she could be in love with him.

* OutOfCharacterMoment:
** In "Gavin Featherly R.I.P.", he is perfectly willing to lie to Gavin's parents that they never found Gavin's body... even though earlier series had made it quite clear how much Brittas hates the idea of lying to people.
** Brittas' flirtatious behavior towards Creator/LesleyJoseph in "Gordon Works It Out" from the ''Get Fit with Brittas'' SpinOff is not a character trait ever seen in the main show. Doubly so considering the fact that Joseph isn't his wife.
* OutOfFocus: While he still plays a decent role in "Brussels Calling", he doesn't get as much screen time as usual due to him being away at Brussels that episode, which largely revolves around the rest of the cast instead.
* ThePeepingTom: Thought to be one by the staff in "Stop Thief!", when they believe he is hiding in a changing room locker.
* PersonalizedAfterlife {{Implied}} in "Back with a Bang" when Brittas recovers his memories of being dead and remembers having gone to a leisure centre (a place which he enjoys working in) in the afterlife.
* PersonaNonGrata: Bars the "Face in the Crowd" contest winner from the centre for life when he catches him trying to replicate the scene using the stolen signboard in "A Walk on the Wildside".
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': You are guilty of perverting the course of justice, so I have no alternative but to ban you from this leisure centre for the rest of your natural life.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Gordon Brittas may be meant to be well-intentioned, but he has been shown to hold controversial views at times - in "Assassin", he seems to be somewhat freaked out on the idea that Tim might be gay (which is true, not that Tim will say this to Brittas), he sometimes calls Carole ugly because of her weight, and once balked at the idea of the centre being filled to the brim with Black people. Intended to highlight the fact that he's a bit too obnoxious, this was a trait particularly true of him in Series 1 and it was toned down once he TookALevelInKindness in Series 2. Doesn't stop Tim and Gavin from hiding their sexualities from him though.
* PostVictoryCollapse: Collapses after he successfully rescues three children from the collapsing leisure centre in "High Noon".
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: He does so when describing the words on many a tombstone in "New Generations":
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': I. Hadn't. Thought. Of. That.
* RealAwardFictionalCharacter: Was awarded the George Medal for his bravery in "High Noon".

* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: In "Back From the Dead", he is presumed to be dead, but really, he had spent a week trapped in a chicken coop in Bulgaria, with the mix-up being because someone had stolen his possessions and had been wearing them when they were flattened in a car factory.

* RevoltingRescue: In "That Creeping Feeling", Colin gets bitten by a spider and will die unless someone [[SuckOutThePoison sucks out the poison]]. Unfortunately, this involves doing so around the crotch and from a person known to be ThePigpen. Nonetheless, he volunteers, which is enough for the staff, (who had been giving him the SilentTreatment earlier on for [[StalkerWithoutACrush spying on them whilst they were changing to create fitness targets]]) to talk to him again.

* SadisticChoice: Drugget gives him one in "The Chop": Either he accepts responsibility for the irregularity in the petty cash and resigns from his job, or his wife (who actually took it to buy a dog) accepts responsibility and goes to jail. He takes the blame and resigns. Luckily for Brittas, he doesn't lose it for long.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: When explaining the staff reviews in "Reviewing the Situation".
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': The basic notion Carole, is that each one of us undertakes and delivers a free and frank appraisal of a colleague's performance. This assessment will ascertain the optimum attainment levels of that colleague in pursuance of his or her operational duty.
-->'''Tim''': I think he means how well we're doing in our jobs.
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': That's one way of putting it Tim, yes.
* SexualEuphemism: Throughout "Temple of the Body", he refers to the act of having sex as the worshipping of each other's temples of the body.
* ShipTease: Is quite flirty with Creator/LesleyJoseph in "Gordon Works It Out" (an episode of the little-known spin-off, ''Get Fit with Brittas'').
* SkewedPriorities: In "Underwater Wedding", Brittas is more worried about a removed door than a woman going into stress-related labour.
* SlipperySlopeFallacy: "Biggles Tells a Lie" reveals this to be part of the reason why he hates lying so much. To him, what starts off as seemingly harmless lies such as lying to the police that you were speeding turns into major ones like fiddling with your taxes or [[FelonyMisdemeanor taking paperclips from work]].

* SquashedFlat: By a falling water tank in "The Last Day".
* StalkerWithoutACrush: In "That Creeping Feeling", he gets photos of the staff changing in the staffroom for the innocent purpose of creating fitness targets for them. There was also the time he hid in the lockers to catch a thief in "Stop Thief!".

* SuckOutThePoison: To save Colin from a lethal spider bite in "That Creeping Feeling". Unfortunately, the spider bit him near the groin...

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: His attempts in "Exposed" to keep the Bobular Fever outbreak a secret.
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': I'd just like to quell any rumours you might have heard about there being an outbreak of contagious disease here at the leisure centre. Oh and by the way, it's definitely not Bobular Fever.
* TakenOffLifeSupport: PlayedForLaughs in "Assassin", which has Helen take him off life support simply because she wanted him dead. Luckily for Brittas, Laura is able to convince her to put the plug back in and he makes a full recovery.
* TakingTheHeat: In "The Chop", Helen steals from the petty cash to buy a new dog, which puts her at risk of going to jail, so Brittas, knowing full well the consequences, saves her by claiming to have taken it instead, at the cost of losing his job.

* {{Troll}}: After finding out Tim's real last name is "Göebbels" in "Reviewing the Situation", he starts making Nazi jokes.
* TwitchyEye: Suffers one after being electrocuted by Colin's waste disposal unit in "Playing With Fire".
* UltimateJobSecurity: Gets fired for incompetency in "The Chop" and isn't rehired until the end of "High Noon".

* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Though how much tends [[DependingOnTheWriter to vary]]. Sometimes he is a totally insensitive jerk, sometimes he is very much a well-meaning woobie.

* WaxingLyrical: He quotes from the ''Theatre/{{Camelot}}'' song "How to Handle a Woman" when talking to Horatio in "The Christening".

* WithAFootOnTheBus: Was ready to leave Whitbury on a plane in "Wake Up the Lion Within".

* WrongfullyAttributed: He misattributes Sebastian Coe's achievements as he's leading him to the bathroom in "Not a Good Day...".
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': My staff will really appreciate this you know, Sebastian. Surprisingly enough, a few of them are actually old enough to remember some o' your greatest athletic triumphs. Like the gold medal, Moscow Olympics, 800 metres.
-->'''Sebastian Coe''': I didn't actually win that one.
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': No, that was Steve Ovett, wasn't it? Still, you got your revenge in Los Angeles, didn't you? ({{Beat}}) No, someone else won that as well, didn' 'e?
* WrongLineOfWork: In "Blind Devotion", Helen is convinced to go to Brussels after Laura tells her that since Brittas' new job as European Commissioner of Sport has nothing to do with people, he would do better work there than his current job as leisure centre manager.

* BriefAccentImitation: She briefly adopts Brittas' accent when she's discussing the "I Spy Brittas" game with the rest of the staff (specifically the part involving getting Brittas to say "Don't worry, I'm dealing with it”).

* FakeRelationship: Brittas tries to pass her off as his wife when Helen is too ill to come to an important dinner in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains".
* ForcefulKiss:
** She grabs Brittas by the collar and gives him a BigDamnKiss in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape".
** The fantasy sequence in "UXB" starts with Brittas being entirely oblivious to her desperately trying to tell him how much she loves him. Finally, she gets fed up with this and starts kissing him passionately.

* SingingInTheShower: She can be heard humming in the shower in "Playing With Fire" just before Brittas disturbs her.

** Harbours romantic feelings for Brittas in Series 3 and 4 despite the fact that he's a complete idiot who ruins everything. Helps that she's the one character to understand how he actually cares for and wants to help people succeed in their goals.

* WithAFootOnTheBus: Was looking for other work in "Laura's Leaving", until she saw how much she was needed at the centre.

* AmbiguouslyBi: He has been seen having crushes on women such as the unknown mother of his daughter, Julie, and Mrs. Edwina Harcourt, but lines in "Pregnant!" and "Back with a Bang" suggest that not only did Colin become aware that his love interest Pauline is a {{Crossdresser}} male, but that he was also willing to continue their romance until Pauline broke up with him.

* TheChewToy: Horrible things happen to him on a regular basis, usually involving severe bodily harm.

* DeadPersonConversation: He thinks he's doing this with Brittas by communicating with his spirit through the intercom in "Back From the Dead", unaware that Brittas is alive and well.
* DependingOnTheWriter: Whether Colin is slightly dim or mentally challenged.
* DreamWithinADream: His dreams about the grid in "The Disappearing Act" retroactively becomes this with the reveal in "Curse of the Tiger Women" that the show was AllJustADream.

* DumbassHasAPoint: In "Assassin", he points out the valid point of the difficulty of promoting offers to people when there's no one at the centre to find out about them in the first place. It's telling that Brittas' response is to simply tell him to make the coffee.

* EarAche: In "The Trial", he suffers from some irritation in his ear, which is revealed to have come from several woodlice in there.

* ExactWords: Uses these to make Gavin look bad in his report in "Reviewing the Situation".
-->'''Colin''': I noticed that there are no illegally parked cars.
-->'''Gavin''': No, thanks to me.
-->'''Colin''': "No thanks to Gavin".
* EyeScream: Gets a broomstick to the eye in "Temple of the Body" when a group of girls believe him to be ThePeepingTom.
* {{Fainting}}: In "Reviewing the Situation", after he gets a bullet to the head.

* GettingSickDeliberately: "A Walk on the Wildside" reveals has been infecting himself with diseases in a bid to build up immunities, to the point of keeping vials of diseases.
-->'''Colin''': I try to give myself a disease on a regular basis so that I can build up an immunity to it. As I always say "A disease a day keeps the doctor away".

* GranolaGuy: Very keen on herbal remedies and clean energy, even if they do no good for his ailments whatsoever.

* HarmlessElectrocution: Gets electrocuted trying to retrieve juggling balls from a live wire in "Sex, Lies and Red Tape". Despite being electrocuted (and falling a significant height as a result) however, he's only mildly stunned, and he's okay several scenes later.

* HypnoFool: A trip to a hypnotist show in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains" leaves him taking off his pants and saying "I love you." at inopportune moments.
* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: Gets hit in the head with a ricocheting bullet in "Reviewing the Situation", but it doesn't seem to affect him much.
* InterruptedSuicide: In "[=http://etc=]", he attempts to commit suicide at the end of the episode but is stopped by Brittas before he has the chance.

* LimitedWardrobe: When he talks about changing his wardrobe in "The Disappearing Act", Brittas comments that he always wears that cardigan.
* LockedInAFreezer: In "In the Beginning...", he and the rest of the staff get trapped in the leisure centre with no food or electricity, but end up bonding together as a result of the experience.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Takes a bullet to the head in "Reviewing the Situation" and basically shrugs it off.
-->'''Mr. Brittas''': Colin! You alright?
-->'''Colin''': Fine, thank you Mr. Brittas. I've just been shot through the head, that's all. Well as they say, a mere flesh wound. I'll be back to work on Monday, can't let the side down when we're understaffed, eh?

* OnlyAFleshWound: Colin gets a bullet to the head in "Reviewing the Situation" and isn't all too bothered about it.

* TheOtherDarrin: Happens InUniverse in "Exposed", when Brittas believes that his appearance is not fit for TV, so he ropes in a handsome-looking stunt double named Brett to cover for him.

* ThePollyanna: Keeps a chirpy attitude despite his numerous aliments, even during his TraumaCongaLine in "Blind Devotion". The only time we really see him upset is either when he thinks he's being fired (as seen in "Mr. Brittas Changes Trains" and "[=http://etc]=]") and when Brittas dies in "The Last Day".

* UltimateJobSecurity: Briefly fired in "Blind Devotion", but manages to get his job back by the episode's end.

* AmusingInjuries:
** He gets harpooned to a door in "Underwater Wedding".
** In "Reviewing the Situation", P.C. Edwards kicks down a door and crushes him underneath it.
* AnxietyDreams: Has one in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." about being guilty of illegally copying a tape.

* CatapultNightmare: His [[AnxietyDreams Anxiety Dream]] in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." ends with him jerking up in his bed and waking up Tim.

* TheDoorSlamsYou: P.C. Edwards slams a door down on him as he was leaving the bathroom in "Reviewing the Situation".
* DreamWithinADream: His nightmare in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." retroactively becomes this with the reveal in "Curse of the Tiger Women" that the show was AllJustADream.

* FatalFlaw: His habit of keeping his boyfriend LockedOutOfTheLoop regarding vital information - naturally, the majority of their conflicts begin when Tim finds out these secrets. See for instance "The Lies Have It" when Gavin hides his Management aspirations from Tim, leading to a physical fight between the two when Tim finds out and "Opening Day", when Tim discovers that Gavin lied about going to his mother's so that he could hang out with someone else at the pub.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent:
** As Brittas is manning the reception when he was believed to be dead in "Back From the Dead", Gavin can be seen walking in, noticing that Brittas is still alive and dragging Linda in whilst observing him with shocked expressions.
** Whilst Brittas is being interviewed in "Safety First", several of the staff members can be seen listening to the horse races. Brittas and Carole the reporter end up being interrupted when him and Tim win at the horse bets.

* HopeSpot: He sees Brittas deciding not to go to Brussels in "The Last Day". Tim knew that this was going to happen, as he had a prophetic dream about it:
-->'''Tim''': I had this dream last night. You know, the one everyone gets about being in the water in the dark.
-->'''Gavin''': No...
-->'''Tim''': You know! You're up to your neck in water, an' you can't see anything. An' you feel trapped because there's no way out. An' then suddenly, it's like a lid lifts off the sky, an' there's light everywhere and you can smell pine trees an' you think "I'm gonna be saved, I'm gonna be saved!".
-->'''Gavin''': Yes?
-->'''Tim''': An' then you realize you're in the toilet. An' looking up, you see this great big hairy hand reaching for the flush...

* LostAtSea: After taking a trip on Colin's potato-powered lilo in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P.".

* NotWhatItLooksLike: He and Linda having a cigarette is interpreted by Brittas (overhearing them through his bug) as them having sex in "Temple of the Body".

* ShirtlessScene: Practically "Shirtless Episode" in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P.", because he is shirtless for over half the episode.

* SuicideBySea: The staff initially believe that he killed himself this way in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." when they find his clothes on the beach. In fact, he didn’t kill himself but was captured by RuthlessModernPirates.

* FiringDay: He spends "The Chop" trying to fire Brittas due to his running of the centre causing a loss in finances. Thanks to Helen buying a dog and taking from the petty cash, he succeeds. Carole is also fired in the process as well when she tries to ask Drugget for an extension to Ben's cupboard.

* GladYouThoughtOfIt: In "The Old, Old Story", he wants Brittas to take up the role of European Commissioner of Sport, but Laura points out that he won't accept it unless he comes up with the idea himself. The solution is to put the advertisement in the faulty pigeonhole for Brittas to pick up and get inspiration from.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Gets Brittas to computerise the centre all by himself in "[=http://etc=]", hoping he would mess up and get fired. Brittas does mess up, but it's Drugget who is put through the wringer because he offered no help to Brittas whatsoever.

* JerkassHasAPoint: He does have a valid point when he points out that Brittas is having a detrimental effect on the centre, considering the RunningGag of the centre having few customers and the high death toll. In fact, his idea of having Brittas sent away to Brussels in "The Old, Old Story" is seen as a good decision by the show, even if it takes Laura a little while to come around to it. However, his hatred for Brittas is enough that Drugget can be hard to sympathise with.

* SadisticChoice: Gives Brittas one in "The Chop": Either he accepts responsibility for the irregularity in the petty cash and resigns from his job, or Helen (who actually took it to buy a dog) accepts responsibility and goes to jail.

* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: She does not spend too long after Brittas' presumed death in "Back From the Dead" before she heads off to marry a man that she met at his cremation, much to Brittas' horror.

* AccidentalMarriage: "A Walk on the Wildside" has her reunited with a spiritual guru named Harry Johnson, who she had a mock wedding with. To her horror, she finds out that the minister who conducted the wedding has since become the Bishop of Maidenstone, meaning that they are actually married. She actually considers seriously going through with it, until Harry is killed at the end of the episode.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite constantly taking Brittas for granted, she repeatedly tries to murder Carole in "Surviving Christmas" when she thinks Brittas is having an affair with her.

* BlameTheParamour: A mishap with one of Colin's Christmas cards in "Surviving Christmas" leads her to [[MistakenForCheating believe that Brittas is cheating on her with Carole]]. Although she's somewhat annoyed at Brittas, she's even more so at Carole, and she spends the episode making death threats at her whilst largely ignoring Brittas.

* BusinessTripAdultery: In "Brussels Calling", she has an affair with John Rawlinson, a lawyer drafted in [[ItMakesSenseInContext when she tried to kill a teacher]] while Brittas is away on a job interview in Brussels. In the next episode, "The Lies Have It", the staff all try to cover up the affair when he returns.
* CatFight: With Philippa in "The Christening".

* CleanPrettyChildbirth: Has twins in the middle of the street in "The Stuff of Dreams", with nothing more than some sweat on her brow and embarrassment on her face.

* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Becomes staff counsellor in Series 7 in spite of the fact that she is one of the more mentally unstable of the cast.

* DeadSparks: "At the Double" reveals she fears that the spark has gone out of her and Brittas' marriage since he returned from the dead in "The Last Day".

* FaceYourFears: Tries to face her fear of heights in "Snap Happy" via skydiving. She ends up freaking out and leaving the plane too early.

* ImmuneToMindControl: Although Mr. Silverman's hypnotism works on the majority of the staff in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains", his attempts to relax her with it completely fail.

* InformedFlaw: According to Brittas in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains", Helen gets confused and disoriented in restaurants (once blowing her nose on a bread roll).

* InsaneEqualsViolent: She has a history of depression, is described by her husband as “severely disturbed”, and was once sent to a mental health clinic. She also has a history of violence, attacking people who she believes have wronged her with the intent to harm or kill.
* {{Irony}}: Despite having incredibly shaky mental health (thanks to being married to Brittas and her pill addiction), she becomes the staff counsellor in Series 7.

* ItsRainingMen: Goes skydiving in "Snap Happy".

* KinkyRolePlaying: Ever since he [[BackFromTheDead returned from the dead]] in "The Last Day", Brittas has not noticed Helen that much on a sexual level. This takes it's toll on her, so in "At the Double", she mentions this to Penny, she suggests spicing up the sex life through the use of costumed role-play. Naturally, when Brittas' IdenticalStranger Vlad comes to the centre, Helen thinks it's Brittas putting on a Franchise/IndianaJones get up for the purpose of sexual role-play and prepares herself to have sex with him until the actual Brittas shows up. She later repeats this mistake with a bear that had gone loose in the centre.

* NaughtyNurseOutfit: Wears one for "Uncle" Simon in "Bye Bye Baby".

* OopsIForgotIWasMarried: She thought that the wedding ceremony she had with Harry wasn't real and is horrified when she finds out that it was in "A Walk on the Wildside".

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: The reason she initially married Brittas was that he stood up for her against an abusive boyfriend.

* AbusiveParents: "Mums and Dads" reveals her parents made her quit her dreams of becoming a piano player and instilled in her a StayInTheKitchen attitude.
* AccidentalMisnaming: She somehow manages to turn Mr. Brittas into "Missbriss".
* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Becomes rather full of herself when guiding Linda through her temporary receptionist work in "The Last Day".
* AnimalMetaphor: In "Wake Up the Lion Within" Carole becomes more assertive after waking up her inner lion.
* BadBoss: Manages to be worse than Brittas in "Wake Up the Lion Within" by relocating the staff and not listening to their complaints.

* CleanPrettyChildbirth: Manages to give birth to twins in the sauna in "New Generations", with no mess to be seen.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Her attempts to follow Brittas' direction can be quite bizarre, including trapping people so that they can fill in surveys. This is not getting into how she resolves the issue of having to raise three children whilst homeless. She's even compared to a mental asylum patient on day release in "Exposed".

* DemonicPossession: She and Colin believed that Brittas was doing this to her to get back to the land of the living in "Back From the Dead".
* TheDogBitesBack: After her visions in "The Trial" are brushed off by Brittas, she makes no attempt to support him during his trial.
* DogFoodDiet: In order to MaintainTheLie that she doesn't have a pet cat in "Biggles Tells a Lie", she willingly eats cat food, although her expression afterwards suggests that she really didn't enjoy it.

* FaintInShock: Passes out after she thinks Brittas has come back from the dead in "Back From the Dead".

* GollumMadeMeDoIt: “Wake Up the Lion Within” has her accidentally spawn an alter-ego when she decides to “roar like a lion” to unlock her true potential. Said alter-ego then cajoles her into becoming the new manager of the centre and bullies the rest of the staff. It’s not until Carole stands up for herself that said alter-ego vanishes.

* MaliciousSlander: Thanks to a misconception from Brittas in "Bye Bye Baby", her ex-husband Derrick ends up believing that she spreads lies about him being impotent.

* MaternityCrisis: Some of Colin's herbs cause her to spontaneously give birth in the centre in "New Generations". She ends up getting her twins delivered by a vet in the sauna.

* MistakenForCheating: Thanks to a mix-up in "Bye Bye Baby", Derrick ends up believing that she had an affair and produced a ChocolateBaby behind his back.
* MistakenForPregnant:
** After her urine test is replaced with Julie's in "Pregnant!".
** Brittas briefly questions why she isn't on maternity leave in "Back with a Bang", even though she's not actually pregnant.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She is horrified at her actions throughout "Wake Up the Lion Within", which gives her the courage needed to stand up against her alter-ego.

* NotWhatItLooksLike: Two reporters interpret Brittas trying to console her in "Temple of the Body" as them having a relationship together.

* {{Retcon}}: In the Series 2 finale, "New Generations", she gives birth to twins, Emily and Tom, however by around Series 5, Tom had become a girl named Jessica.

* StoodUp: She ends up believing that Ronald had stood her up for the ball in "Shall We Dance?", leaving her upset. [[{{Subverted}} In truth]], Ronald had made it into the centre but was stuck in the vent and thus never made it to her.

* TextileWorkIsFeminine: She's usually seen knitting in Series 1, likely to create pieces of clothing for her newborn son.

* ToiletSeatDivorce: From her point of view, she thinks the reason why Derrick gave up on rekindling their relationship entirely after initially expressing a desire to get back with her in "Bye Bye Baby" was simply that she greeted him the wrong way, although [[SubvertedTrope in truth]], this was because Brittas had accidentally given him the belief that she had spread rumours about his impotence and had an affair behind his back.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Whilst she has always been characterised as a bit of an oddball mother, at no point before Series 6 does she go as far as to shift the blame to her young son to get out of a mishap involving markers, a contest board, and Penny, something which even Brittas calls her out for. Or guilt-tripping a pirate entertainer into allowing said young son, who apparently crippled him for life, to be a party guest, blaming the pirate for allowing the son to get at the party bags whilst ignoring the fact that the son had forced the pirate to give him them, and then knocking him out for good measure.
* TraumaButton: From "Back with a Bang" onward she becomes prone to tears when someone mentions anything to do with Mr. von Trap or Austria (e.g ''Film/TheSoundOfMusic'').
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Usurps Brittas' position in "Wake Up the Lion Within" and begins relocating everyone in the centre until they're protesting for Brittas to return.

* VerbalTic: After being hypnotised in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains", she would unknowingly end every sentence with a croaking noise.
* VomitDiscretionShot: Thankfully, we don't see her puke onscreen when he is suffering from MorningSickness in "Temple of the Body".
* WhatDidIDoLastNight: In "Pregnant!", she and Colin fear that they may have had sex whilst under the influence of heavy hallucinogens, even though they remember none of the experience.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: So where did she and her kids stay for the week while the centre was being computerised in "[=http://etc=]"?

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Hinted at to be the case with her manuscript ''Mistress of Kinvara'' from "Sex, Lies and Red Tape" InUniverse, which is about a struggling receptionist who is working her way up (like Carole).

* ConfidenceBuildingScheme: He fabricates a letter from a record company in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." as part of a scheme to try to get Gavin to stand up to Brittas more. Too bad it goes horribly wrong...

* DopeSlap: Gives one to Gavin after he reveals that he has hidden booze in "In the Beginning...".
* DreadedKidsPartyEntertainerJob: Has to take the role of "Mr. Jolly" in "Brussels Calling", and he is shown to both half-ass it and not enjoy it at all.
* DreamWithinADream: In "The Last Day" and "A Walk on the Wildside", he briefly mentions dreams he's had, which become an example of this trope after the final episode, "Curse of the Tiger Women", reveals that the entirety of the series was AllJustADream.
* DrivenToSuicide: After Gavin is believed to be dead in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P", Tim remembers his words of "I'd rather die." and Brittas thinks Tim means it himself after he says it out loud.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Whilst Brittas is being interviewed in "Safety First", several of the staff members can be seen listening to the horse races. Brittas and Carole the reporter end up being interrupted when him and Gavin win at the horse bets.
* GroinAttack: A blinded Colin gives him one in an attempt to rescue a drowning child in "Blind Devotion".

* LockedInAFreezer: In "In the Beginning...", he and the rest of the staff get trapped in the leisure centre with no food or electricity, but end up bonding together as a result of the experience.
* LookMaIAmOnTV: He was hoping to hold up a sign saying "Hello Mum" during the actual ''Series/SongsOfPraise'' performance in "The Old, Old Story". Unfortunately for him, Brittas confiscates the card before he can actually go through it.

* MarshmallowHell: Accidentally receives this from Carole in "Playing With Fire", when she tries to make him feel better after Gavin's fiancée Jennifer returns.
* MistakenForPregnant: After his urine test is replaced with Julie's in "Pregnant!".
* MrSeahorse: Thanks to a mix-up in samples, Tim's urine test comes up positive for pregnancy in "Pregnant!". Ultimately {{Subverted}} when it is revealed that the pregnancy is Julie's.
* MySecretPregnancy: Brittas believes he is pregnant and hiding it in "Pregnant!" and goes to extreme lengths to prove it.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** The dolphin/shark mix-up in "Mr Brittas Falls in Love" was partly his fault because of his constant demands for gourmet cafeteria food.
** His supposedly harmless prank on Gavin in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." leads to him getting captured by RuthlessModernPirates and everyone believing he was dead.

* OverworkedSleep: Throughout "At the Double" he sleeps anywhere he can in the centre because he has been up all night at his catering job.

* PracticalJoke: Fabricates a copyright letter from a record company to Gavin in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." partially as a prank and partially to teach Gavin to not be as much of a slave to Brittas.
* PlayingSick: He tries this to get out of the bungee jump in "The Elephant's Child", including artificially raising his temperature. It doesn't work.

* SkewedPriorities: When the staff was snowed inside the leisure centre in "In the Beginning..." dying of thirst was not an issue faced by the staff as the taps still worked, however, he is furious when he finds Carole has been hiding blackcurrant juice from the others because he's sick of drinking water.
* SmokingIsNotCool: "Safety First" reveals he doesn't approve of Gavin smoking and makes him do it in the garden.
* SpeakInUnison: He and Gavin both say "Tit" to Brittas when talking about the mnemonic for "Think, identify, tell" in "The Lies Have It".

* SweetPollyOliver: Brittas believed him to be one during an alleged outbreak of mass pregnancy in the centre in "Pregnant!".
* TakeOffYourClothes: Brittas rips off his clothes to try and see if he was actually a pregnant woman in "Pregnant!".
* TapOnTheHead: He is knocked out by a blow to the head by a clock that Colin had accidentally wedged loose in "Blind Devotion", but suffers no permanent damage and is walking and talking by later on in the episode.
* UnPerson: Timothy Whistler does not legally exist according to the DSS records, so when Brittas discovers this in "Reviewing the Situation" he acts as if he doesn't actually exist.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse?: His two plotlines in "Gavin Featherly R.I.P." (knowing Gavin was still alive and him discovering that Gavin never told his family about their relationship) never get resolved as he is locked away in the centre and never makes it to the funeral.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: As Brittas is manning the reception when he was believed to be dead in "Back From the Dead", Gavin can be seen walking in, noticing that Brittas is still alive and dragging her in whilst observing him with shocked expressions.

* TheGunslinger: Has always had a love for firearms. "The Old, Old Story" has her wield a shotgun to defend the centre.

* HypnoFool: A trip to a hypnotist show in "Mr Brittas Changes Trains" leaves her barking instead of speaking English.

* MistakenForPregnant: After her urine test is replaced with Julie's in "Pregnant!".

* LongestPregnancyEver: Her pregnancy lasted the longest episode-wise - whilst Carole was only pregnant from the end of Series 1 to the end of Series 2 and Helen was pregnant from the end of Series 2 to the end of Series 3, Julie falls pregnant in the latter half of Series 5 and doesn't give birth until the start of Series 7.

* TheGhost: After Series 4.

* AscendedExtra: Despite the fact that only his head and arm appear on-screen in "Snap Happy", many of Carole's subplots during then revolve around him to a much greater degree in Series 6 than in previous series, whether it be his birthday party ("Body Language"), giving him chickenpox ("A Walk on the Wildside") or trying to get him on as a party guest ("Snap Happy").

* EnfantTerrible: In Series 6, where he bites other children on a regular basis that he's become TheDreaded, dangles people out of windows, and finds it perfectly acceptable to hold hostage girls for party bags.

** According to Carole, he's friends with a dog at the kennels he's held in over the course of "Surviving Christmas".
* KidHero: Becomes one in "High Noon" when he manages to save Brittas from the collapsing leisure centre in spite of only being 3 years old.

* SuddenlySpeaking: Gets an actual line ("Oh no! I won't get it back!") in "At the Double" after never speaking during the course of the previous 5 series.

* 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 does get a line in "At the Double" however.

* SexySecretary: So sexy that a tabloid magazine try to interview her in "Temple of the Body" after she is photographed saving a dog from a lake whilst naked.
* ShipSinking: She was revealed in "Back with a Bang" to have kicked out Alex (her new boyfriend from "Pregnant!") for trying to give her elocution lessons.

** 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 interacted a lot less with Brittas.

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

* AscendedExtra: Despite the fact that only his head and arm appear on-screen in the Series 6 episode "Snap Happy", many of Carole's subplots during then revolve around him to a much greater degree than in previous series, whether it be his birthday party ("Body Language"), giving him chickenpox ("A Walk on the Wildside") or trying to get him on as a party guest ("Snap Happy").

* BrattyHalfPint: By Series 5, where he's only around 3, he begins to show some bratty behaviour, including calling his mother a "poo-head" for not buying him an air rifle. Series 6 amps up the behaviour, culminating in his brief time as a party guest in "Snap Happy", where he has a constant screaming fit and holds several girls hostage for party bags.

* AscendedExtra: Despite the fact that he never appears on-screen at all in Series 6, many of Carole's subplots during then revolve around him to a much greater degree than in previous series, whether it be his birthday party ("Body Language"), giving him chickenpox ("A Walk on the Wildside") or trying to get him on as a party guest ("Snap Happy").

* TheGhost: Whilst he is given a fair amount of on-screen appearances, his last one is in "The Last Day" in Series 5, although he still gets involved in some plots off-screen (most notably in Series 6) and even gets a line in Series 6's "At the Double".

** A game included as part of the Series 3 DVD has Carole once again losing Ben, requiring the player to search the leisure centre.

* VomitDiscretionShot: He pukes into the bag holding the photographer's film in "Snap Happy", although the audience only sees the bag being moved out of sight and hears him puking.

* NervousWreck: The most anxious of the staff members, being prone to panic attacks and fears that his boyfriend might leave him for another person.

* EnfantTerrible: He's awfully violent towards other children in Series 6, to the point of becoming TheDreaded due to his habit of biting them.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: When her son is in danger in "Opening Day" and Brittas starts condescendingly giving her advice to free him, Carole snaps at Brittas and threatens to murder him.

* ABirthdayNotABreak: Everyone forgets her birthday in "The Lies Have It", except Ben who insults her for not getting him an air-rifle.

* InconsistentSpelling: Her name is spelt out in the credits as "Carole", but it has sometimes been spelt as "Carol", most notably on the Eureka DVD box sets.

** She also blames herself for causing Brittas' death in "The Last Day", especially since he sacrificed his life saving her.

* LoveHurts: None of her romantic relationships go right for her - Derrick ditches her halfway into her pregnancy without paying the mortgage on their home, she fails to raise enough money to move to Australia to be with an old boyfriend, Ronald ends up in an UncertainDoom in the vents of the centre, Gerald downright dies thanks to Tim, and Herr von Trap ditches her as well in favour of a nun.

* MostWritersAreWriters: "Sex, Lies and Red Tape" reveals that one of her talents is in novel writing, although since it's [[ButtMonkey Carole]], only Michael and Laura discover she even writes at all and the manuscript gets destroyed at the end. It briefly comes back in "Reviewing the Siutation", but since Carole's applying it to a review of Linda's work, it's received less favourably.

* RidiculouslySuccessfulFutureSelf: "In the Beginning..." reveals she becomes a world famous pianist by 2019.

* CatchPhrase: A few:

* CatchPhrase: "Welcome to Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre, how may I help you?" with a smile.

* CatchPhrase: A hysterical "We're going to die! We're all going to die!".

* CatchPhrase: "I'm busy!" whenever asked to do anything by Brittas.

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

* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: Inverted - despite being born at the end of Series 2, which is implied to take place around nine months after the centre opens, the final episode establishes them as having only recently turned three, which is also the same episode that has the centre celebrate it's seventh anniversary.

* {{Foil}}: To Brittas and Carole's twins, Emily and Jessica, being a set of Brittas-fathered twins of an opposite gender to each other.

* HardDrinkingPartyGirl: As shown in "UXB", when she throws a party that nobody can leave until they've all been sick.

* IncompatibleOrientation: "Mr Brittas Changes Trains" reveals that she has a desire to make out with Gavin.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Some episodes such as "At the Double" state that her full name is Penelope, but everyone just calls her Penny.

* 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 apparently lopping off the hand of a children's entertainer.

* CuteButCacophonic: Has a habit to shriek and yell a lot in a panic. Best examples are in "Underwater Wedding", "In the Beginning...", "A Walk on the Wideside" and "Surviving Christmas".

* TheGhost: Whilst he is given a fair amount of on-screen appearances, his last one is in "The Last Day" in Series 5, although he still gets involved in some plots off-screen and even gets a line in Series 6's "At the Double".

[[folder:Gordon Wellesley Brittas GM]]

[[folder:Laura Farrell, née Lancing]]

[[folder:Councillor Daphne Dapping]]

[[folder:Councillor Jack Drugget]]

[[folder:Timothy "Tim" Whistler]]

[[folder:Penelope "Penny" Bidmead]]

Brittas and Helen's neighbour and Helen's friend in Series 1. Played by Frances Low.

[[folder:James "Jim" Brittas]]

[[folder:Reverend Horatio Brittas]]

[[folder:Matthew and Mark Gordon Brittas]]

[[folder:Sebastian "Sebby" Coe, OBE, MP]]

[[folder:Gordon Colin Porter]]

[[folder:"Uncle" Simon]]
Helen's long term affair. Brittas believes him to be a sick uncle. Never shown on screen.