The Lads | Family Members | Rudge Park Comprehensive | Other Characters
open/close all folders
McKenzie Family
Polly McKenzie
Polly McKenzie
Is that your mum? She's fit!
Played by: Belinda Stewart Wilson
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents:
- Will is embarrassed by some of the things she does, such as buying him a vest for his birthday or letting slip about his childhood habits and ailments.
- In the first episode, it's revealed she told the school that Will was bullied, giving him no small amount of embarrassment and actually contributing to his ostracization even though the reason he changed schools was actually because of school fees since they couldn't afford to keep sending Will there after the divorce.
- Ambiguous Situation: In "Caravan Club", Jay finds a magazine with a centrefold model who looks startlingly like her, so much so that even Will finds the resemblance uncanny. We never get any confirmation on whether it actually was her or not.
- Brainless Beauty: As of the second movie. While she's always had a certain cluelessness, she has clearly taken a Level In Dumbass, accidentally flashing everyone her cleavage while trying to adjust her webcam amongst other things.
- Brutal Honesty: She has a tendency to be somewhat tactless, like when she tells Will to stay away from good-looking girls and to let the good-looking boys go for them instead.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Her enormous breasts are a source of lust for Simon, Jay and Neil, much to Will's chagrin.
- Deadpan Snarker: Like her son, she has her moments. In many cases, she has no tact with her snarky comments.
- Dude Magnet: Apart from her son, every male character she interacts with ends up falling for her instantly.
- Flanderization: She's out of touch and lacking in tact in the series, but is otherwise shown to share her wit and intelligence with her son. The movies exaggerate this to a point where it's hard to call her anything other than a Brainless Beauty.
- Glamorous Single Mother: She's a beautiful divorcee who, other than not being able to afford to keep her son in private schooling, doesn't appear to be having too hard of a time financially; particularly since we never actually ever see her working.
- Guess Who I'm Marrying?: Gets engaged to Mr. Gilbert by the end of the second movie.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Every character who's met her, particularly at the school, comments on her general physical attractiveness. This has spilt over into the fandom as well.
- Hopeless with Tech: Implied initially by the lads since Will can beat her at the Wii. In the second movie, she's unable to use Skype properly despite Will having instructed her several times.
- Innocently Insensitive: Occasionally offers Will advice or encouragement that carries the underlying suggestion that even she considers him to be a boring, unattractive killjoy.
- Lust Object: Jay, Simon, and especially Neil all want her, and characters like Mr. Gilbert and Mark Donovan express similar interest in her.
- My Beloved Smother: She worries about Will a little too much at times to embarrassing levels.
- Nice Girl: Generally shown to be a kind, loving woman, especially towards her son.
- Parents as People: She can be a bit clueless and tactless towards Will, but she does genuinely love and care for him.
- Parent with New Paramour: One episode focuses on her developing a relationship with an old college friend, much to Will's annoyance. The end of the second movie reveals that she's gotten engaged to Mr. Gilbert.
- Running Gag: Whenever Will goes anywhere with his mates, she goes off to get him a jumper.
- Stacy's Mom: Everybody, from the school psycho to the head of sixth form, has a thing for her. The lads always make comments about her, much to Will's chagrin.
- That Came Out Wrong: Her attempts to comfort Will usually have her accidentally insulting him, but she does try.
- What, Exactly, Is His Job?: It's unclear if she even has one or if she simply lives off of money sent by her ex-husband.
Mr. McKenzie
Mr. McKenzie
Played by: Anthony Head
- Abusive Parents: He's distant and openly mocking towards his only child.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: After treating Will rather poorly during their one and only scene together, he's shown tearing up with pride at the sight of a picture of him having fun on vacation with Alison at the end of the first movie.
- Brutal Honesty: Bluntly tells his son that he didn't invite him to his second wedding because he's awkward around other people, and does so in a way that makes it seem like he intended it to be reassuring.
- Deadpan Snarker: He shares Will's dry sense of humor, though since he directs all of his snarking towards Will, his son, during his one major scene, it only serves to make him seem like a massive prick.
- Dirty Old Man: He's at least 50 and married to a woman only a few years older than Will.
- Foil: To Jay's dad. They're both the verbally abusive fathers of one of the protagonists, but Jay's dad is a crass and bullish Lower-Class Lout while Will's dad is an aloof and condescending Rich Bitch.
- The Ghost: In the series, he's often mentioned but never appears. He finally shows up in the flesh at the beginning of the first movie.
- Hidden Depths:
- He cries tears of joy once he finds out Will has a girlfriend, hinting that he does love his son in his own aloof way.
- "Will's Birthday" reveals that he was the one between Will's parents who kept track of how old their son was; without him, Polly got his age off by a year.
- Jerkass: The first we see of him, he's treating his own son Will like a joyless chore and rubbing his social awkwardness in his face.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While pointlessly cruel, he was in all likelihood correct that Will would have been incredibly uncomfortable and unhappy attending a wedding between him and the woman he left his mother for.
- Kavorka Man: He's a sour-faced middle-aged man married to a beautiful woman nearly the same age as his son, while his ex-wife is also noted in-universe to be absolutely gorgeous. It probably helps that he's rich.
- May–December Romance: His current wife is around his son's age.
- No Name Given: The only reason we know his last name is because we know Will's full name; he himself is only ever referred to as "Will's Dad", even in the credits.
- Rich Bitch: He's wealthy, but also aloof and mocking towards his son and was unfaithful to his ex-wife while they were married.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Never appears in the series itself (and only appears twice in the one movie he actually shows up in), but catalyzes the plot by abandoning his wife and son to run off with his mistress, which forces Will to begin attending public school.
- Unnamed Parent: Even the credits just refer to him as "Will's Dad".
- Unseen No More: After spending the entire series as The Ghost, Will visits him during the opening scene of The Movie.
Sutherland Family
Kevin Sutherland
Kevin Sutherland
Played by: Alex Mc Queen
- All Gays Are Pedophiles: Jay and Simon's mockery of his Ambiguously Gay personality occasionally dips into suggesting that he's a paedophile.
- Ambiguously Gay: Though he strenuously denies it.
- Catchphrase: "Neil...", usually said in tones of great exasperation.
- Extreme Doormat: While he does have a boiling point, and kicks Neil's friends out of his house when a drunk Will viciously mocks him, he generally lets his son do whatever he wants due to lacking the backbone to tell him otherwise.
- Fan Disservice: He's a chubby middle-aged guy who is often shown in very small and tight-fitting shorts.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: Denies being gay, mentioning that he was married.
- Hopeless Suitor: The yearbook implies that (like everyone else) he has a thing for Will's mum, who (like everyone else) thinks he's gay.
- Innocent Innuendo: A sizable chunk of what he says could easily be taken as a reference to male-on-male sex out of context.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: He's fussy and effeminate while his son is an idiot and The Pig-Pen. Both are generally shown to be Nice Guys, though. His daughter is also shown to be an aloof Deadpan Snarker; contrasting him in a completely different way than Neil does.
- Nice Guy: He's generally soft-spoken and polite to everyone.
- No-Respect Guy: Neil's friends constantly mock him behind his back (and occasionally to his face), the other parents admit to also believing him to be a closeted gay man in spite of his protestations, and Neil himself generally makes life harder for him by being a careless idiot. At the end of each movie Neil barely acknowledges him at all after coming home from holiday, whereas the other three all at least greet their parents.
- Perpetual Poverty: His lack of money as a result of having to pay alimony to his ex-wife tends to be a secondary target of mockery from Neil's friends after his sexuality.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to Neil's Manly Man. He's an effeminate and fussy fellow while his son's a lout in every sense of the word.
Katie Sutherland
Katie Sutherland
Played by: Kacey Barnfield
- Aloof Big Sister: While she acts rather cold to everyone we see her interacting with, it should be noted that she and Neil barely ever speak to each other when they share a scene together.
- Deadpan Snarker: She tends to respond to the lads with cutting quips.
- Ice Queen: Always come across as bored and disinterested on the occasions when she appears. Somewhat justified in that we mostly only ever see her interacting with her brother and his friends.
- Jerkass: Never has anything nice to say to anyone, though that may have to do with her sharing the majority of her screentime with a bunch of oggling teenage boys. Her apparent lack of gainful employment despite being out of school and money being tight around the Sutherland household also reflects badly on her.
- Lazy Bum: Appears to be unemployed and is always seen lounging around her house in a robe and gown. The yearbook states that she has dreams of becoming a celebrity but none of the drive needed to put in the work to actually become one.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Her dad is a mild-mannered Nice Guy while she's a cool and collected Ice Queen.
- Lust Object: To a lesser extent than Will's mum, but the lads outside of Neil are all quite open about how hot they find her to be.
- Ms. Fanservice: Downplayed, but she's very attractive and always shown in a night gown with a generous Cleavage Window.
- My Eyes Are Up Here: Brusquely tells Jay to stop staring at her tits when she answers the door for him.
- Only Sane Woman: Lacks any outstanding quirks compared to her dad and brother and overall seems fairly normal.
- Pet the Dog: She comes to comfort Kerry alongside the rest of Neil's relatives after Will dumps her. This is just about the only time she ever shows any compassion.
- Really Gets Around: At least according to Jay. The extent of her actual love life that we get to hear about is that she's dating a mechanic in series 1.
- Satellite Character: Doesn't appear very often and rarely serves as anything other than a Lust Object on the occasions when she does.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: She's Neil's polar opposite in just about every way imaginable; he's a Kindhearted Simpleton while she's a snarky Ice Queen. Neil is also shown to be deceptively hard-working whereas she is a Lazy Bum.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Her dad is chubby, pale, and balding while she's tan and beautiful. Will admits in his narration that the only reasonable explanation for their relation is that she's adopted.
- Women Are Wiser: The sole female member of Neil's family the audience sees is also the least eccentric.
Cooper Family
Alan Cooper
Alan Cooper
Played by: Martin Trenaman
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: He will not shut up about his sex life.
- Chivalrous Pervert: He has a very strong libido, but reserves it exclusively for his wife. It actually leads to some brief relationship trouble for them when she starts to get fed up with his sex drive.
- The Comically Serious: Or The Cringe Comically Serious if you want. Whenever he goes into unnecessary details about his sex life, he often has a completely deadpan face as if he thinks mentioning his sex life is just like discussing politics. This tends to embarrass Simon even more.
- Generation Xerox: When Simon confesses to him about his feelings for Carli, he tells Simon that he had a similar situation with unrequited love. Of course, he then goes on about Simon's mother's sex drive, causing Simon to be sick.
- Good Parents: He's shown to be a reasonable dad who's willing to give his son his own space, offer him sensible advice, and make genuine attempts at connecting with him man-to-man. Unfortunately, the combination of his loose lips regarding his sex life and Simon's status as a moody teen cause Simon to brand him as little more than an annoyance more often than not.
- Happily Married: Apart from a single falling out that is resolved in the same episode it's introduced in, he and his wife seem to have a very loving relationship.
- Nice Guy: A pretty mellow dad, especially compared to Terry Cartwright.
- No-Respect Guy: If he says anything to Simon, even when it doesn't involve his sex life, expect Simon to blow up at him for it as though he said the most heinous thing in the world.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He waits to hear Simon's side of the story when Simon accidentally climbs into Carli's little brother's room and professes love to him.
- Series Continuity Error: The tie-in yearbook includes letters from him to Mr. Gilbert during the period when he and his wife were separated. In them, he claims that their falling out was due to him being unable to keep up with her sexually, whereas in the episode where the event actually happened it was the other way around. He also signs the letter as "David A. Cooper" even though his first name is Alan.
- Too Much Information: He has a bad habit of delving into too much detail about his sex life when speaking to his son.
Pamela Cooper
Pamela Cooper
Played by: Robin Weaver
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Not to the same extent as her husband, but she can be intrusive at times and has seemingly no problem with her husband going into detail about their sex life.
- Closer to Earth: Overall seems slightly less tactless than Alan. Her sex drive is seemingly also not quite as outrageous as his is.
- Covert Pervert: She's more tight-lipped about her sex life than her husband is, but, going off of his statements, has nearly as much of a libido as he does.
- Fetish: Simon's dad lets it slip in the movie that she's aroused by the smell of sunscreen.
- Good Parents: On the whole, she's probably the most normal, stable and responsible adult on the show, though Simon is hardly appreciative.
- Happily Married: Apart from a single falling out that is resolved in the same episode it's introduced in, she and her husband seem to have a very loving relationship.
- Informed Ability: She's apparently wild in the sack if Simon's dad is anyone to go off of, but we (thankfully) never get any real evidence.
- Informed Deformity: Jay and Neil constantly mock her appearance when, while not a knock-out like Will's mum, she's a perfectly ordinary-looking middle-aged woman.
- Nice Girl: Generally comes off as a friendly, even-tempered woman.
- No-Respect Guy: Simon is enraged by practically everything she does while Jay and Neil constantly make derogatory remarks about her behind her back.
- Satellite Character: Doesn't receive as distinct of a characterization as her husband does.
Andrew Cooper
Played by: Dominic Applewhite
- Bratty Half-Pint: He's a typical bratty little brother in the first two seasons who is constantly annoying and undermining Simon. This trope is subverted in the third season, where he's visibly hit puberty and his characterisation is more mature to match.
Cartwright Family
Terry Cartwright
Terry Cartwright
Played by: David Schaal
- Abusive Parents: Without a doubt, the worst parent on the show. He relentlessly mocks Jay for practically everything he does, which has done a number on his self-esteem and made him desperate for any kind of praise or acknowledgment.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: A much nastier version than the parents of the other boys. His way of embarrassing Jay in front of his friends is to hurl put-downs at him and berate him constantly.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Has a handful of very small moments that show he has affection for his son:
- He starts a fight with Jay's uncle for saying the same insulting things to his son as he normally does at the end of the second movie.
- In the same movie, the first thing he does upon reuniting with Jay during the end credits is give him an affectionate noogie.
- The Bully: Practically all of his lines are mocking taunts directed at Jay.
- Dirty Old Man: Jay's perversion clearly comes from him. The first thing he does upon meeting Jane in the movie is to kiss her on the lips unprompted.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even he finds Jay's uncle's behaviour towards him unbearable.
- Fat Bastard: Possessed of a hairy beer gut and is borderline abusive towards Jay.
- Gasshole: Is quite loud when using to toilet in a cramped caravan. The smell is so bad, Will notes that his eyes are burning.
- Hate Sink: Everything about him works to earn the audience's ire. This has the added effect of making Jay seem more likable and sympathetic.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Surprisingly, he gets one in the second movie when he starts a fight with his cousin when he repeatedly insults Jay in front of him. Bearing in mind, Jay's dad usually says similar things to Jay, apparently only he is allowed to do so.
- Jerkass: He's constantly derisive towards both his wife and son. He's actually fairly amicable towards all of Jay's friends, but they still rightfully find him to be disgusting.
- Karma Houdini: Nevers suffers any consequences for his terrible treatment of his son.
- Lower-Class Lout: He's a brutish, unwashed working-class bloke.
- Pet the Dog: He's generally quite friendly to Will and is one of the few people who doesn't ridicule him at any point (onscreen at least).
- The Pig-Pen: He has no manners whatsoever, allows his piss to splash in all directions while in the bathroom, and produces farts rank enough to offend even Neil's nostrils.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The bullying Manly Man to Jay's insecure Sensitive Guy.
- Straw Misogynist: Refers to women as though they were objects, along with all of his other loathsome characteristics.
Uncle Bryan
Uncle Bryan
Played by: David Field
- Jerkass: Just like his cousin Terry, he makes fun of Jay in front of his friends.
- The Millstone: He twists Simon's attempt at breaking up with Lucy into a marriage proposal.
- Racist Grandpa: Uncle Bryan mentions that it's shame that Jay's dad doesn't want to move to Australia because "We could do with some white immigration for a change".
