Sharon: 'Allo Dorien. Yeah I know it's late. Look, it's the revolting fat Cockney here with 'er coarse peasant features. Yeah, sorry to horrify you by being on the same phone line as you, but... you have got a God-given chance to avoid being severely duffed up the next time I see ya.
— Sharon Theodopolopodous threatening Dorien over the phone.
- Date First Aired: 02/11/1991
Sharon faces criminal charges after it's revealed her flat is now housing belligerent squatters Cedric and Egbert; her neighbour has also been using the opportunity to acquire mail-order items using Sharon's identity. Chris is eventually able to sort things out - with the aid of Batty Harold and his mates, who specialise in grievous bodily harm. Meanwhile, Dorien has decided to start reading a book based on her experiences, which the other two girls are fascinated with.
Tropes in this episode:
- Accidental Misnaming: Cedric can't pronounce Theodopolopodous.Cedric: Your name's Theo-popo or somming?
- Author Avatar: Dorien bases Pussy Golightly on herself.
- Bald of Evil: Cedric and Egbert who take over Sharon's flat.
- Batter Up!: "Batty" got his nickname from beating up people with a baseball bat.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: Every male in Dorien's novel, but Tracey gives a special mention to Tarquin DeWinter.
- Book Dumb: Tracey's never been good at adding up, both before and after people started using calculators.
- Brick Joke: At the start of the episode Tracey and Sharon talk about Dillip Patel from the supermarket. At the end of the episode, Dorien tells them she's fell in love with a man... named Dillip Patel.
- Call-Back: Dorien got the idea to write a novel about her sexlife from Sharon back in "Jobs for the Girls".
- Continuity Nod:
- Fat Stan using Sharon's flat to store his goods is brought up again.
- Chris' terrible taste in wallpaper is brought up again.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Egbert is mentioned to be a "transvestite" and is a giant muscular bald man with a moustache.
- Deadpan Snarker: Tracey tells Sharon that Dillip Patel from the supermarket has two kids and Sharon asks if he's married, leading to this responce from Tracey:Tracey: Well of course 'e's married! Whad ya fink, he 'ad two kids all on 'is own?
- Dreadful Musician: According to Irene, Egbert and Cedric are horrible musicians, which is why they haven't got their own place.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Cedric may threaten people for money and squat in Sharon's flat, but he hates people who cheat the welfare office.
- The Faceless: We only get to see Batty Harold's arm.
- Fat Bastard: Cedric, who invades Sharon's flat and threatens her and Tracey.
- Fat and Skinny: Cedric is the fat to Egbert's skinny.
- The Ghost: Dillip Patel who works at the supermarket and eventually catches Dorien's eye.
- House Squatting: Part of the plot of the episode is a duo of belligerent house squatters living in Sharon's old flat, leading to her facing criminal charges. It's also mentioned that there were squatters in Sharon's flat before Cedric and Egbert.
- No Ending: The episode ends with Batty breaking in to Sharon's flat with no explanation of how the girls get out of this one.
- Noodle Incident: Marcus once paid a gang to thump the crap out of some squatters.
- Not So Above It All: Dorien mentions that Marcus once paid a gang to thump the crap out of some squatters.
- One-Shot Character: Cedric, Egbert, Irene and Batty Harold.
- One-Steve Limit: Dorien mentions meeting a man with the Pen Name of Dominic Lazlow. Dorien previously mentioned having a toyboy named Dominic in "Thirty Something".
- One-Word Title: The name of the episode is "Cuckoo".
- Pen Name: Dorien mentions meeting a man named Kevin Pratt who writes under Dominic Lazlow.
- Really Gets Around: Pussy Golightly, the nymphomaniac heroine of Dorien's novel.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Irene keeps going off on unrelated tangents.
- Shout-Out:
- Sharon mentions the supermarket makes the dole office look like the Mary Celeste.
- Tracey makes a snarky comment about Dillip Patel appearing on This Is Your Life.
- Irene has records of The Academy of Saint Martin's in the Fields performing "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi, "Symphony No. 6" by Ludwig van Beethoven, the many horn concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the "New World Syphony".
- Take Our Word for It: We never get to read any of Dorien's novel, but going by Tracey and Sharon's reactions, it is incredibly filthy and highly addictive.
- Take That!:
- For her novel, Dorien states she wants to reach both the left wing and proper people.
- Sharon hears music coming from her flat, but Tracey corrects her:Tracey: Tha's not music, tha's Motör'ead!
- It's mentioned that Cedric and Egbert's music is so bad, it makes The Sex Pistols sound like The Academy of Saint Martin's in the Fields.
- Unfortunate Names: Dominic Lazlow's real name is Kevin Pratt.
- Urine Trouble: Irene makes a comment about needing nappies.
- Write Who You Know: In-Universe Dorien bases some of the characters in her novel on people she knows: Tarquin DeWinter is based on Luke, the fat Cockney woman on Sharon and the Mughal prince on Dillip Patel.
