Appears in:
Series 1, Series 2, Live at Drury Lane, Series 3
Played By:
Reece Shearsmith
Quickie Bio:
Businessman Geoff Tipps has been friends with co-workers Mike and Brian since he was little, and still considers Mike, who is now his boss at Plastic Injection Mouldings Co. Ltd, to be his best friend. High strung and deeply bitter, Geoff carries a gun with him wherever he goes. He dreams of being a stand up comedian, but is unable to tell a joke properly and had a very bad childhood experience with joke-telling that bothers him to this day. When he does manage to pull off a practical joke (on his birthday), we can see that he is clearly missing any sense of appropriateness or good-taste. He had a wife, Katie, who eventually left him for Brian. He now lives by himself in a run-down flat that strongly resembles a bunker. For a man's man, he sure does burst into tears a lot. He's not a big fan of Mike's fiance, Cheryl (he thinks she looks old), but he desperately wants to be Mike's best man. When Mike agrees to let Geoff be his best man, Geoff ends up delivering what is most likely the most bitter and disturbing speech ever at Mike's reception.
In Series two we find Geoff, Mike, and Brian off to the Bi-Annual Auto Plastics Convention. When Geoff offends Barbara she kicks them out of her cab and strands them in the middle of nowhere. Geoff calls upon the skills he learned in the TA's and attempts to lead them through the forrest to their seminar. He gets them hopelessly lost, and practically kills Mike (thinking he was "the enemy").
In Series three Mike sacks Geoff, and Geoff decides to try his hand at something he's always wanted to do... comedy. Geoff travels to London (with some minor mishaps along the way) so he can perform at his old friend's club, The Salmon of Knowledge. Geoff, true to form, did not perform as well as one might hope (especially after learning that director Jed Hunter was in attendance), and ended up getting quite angry with his audience. Ashamed to admit he was doing poorly, Geoff lied to a visiting Mike and in the process lost the chance to get his old job back. Don offered some help, giving Geoff a one-off job where he could make some quick cash (picking up a car) -- unfortunately Don's offer was not as innocent as it seemed, and Geoff ended up being accused of being a terrorist. Disguised and desperate to get home, Geoff plays a role in the "big event" of Series 3.
Useless Trivia:
Quotes:
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Series 1
Series 2
Live at Drury Lane
Series 3
Appears in:
Series 1, Series 2, Live at Drury Lane, Series 3
Played By:
Steve Pemberton
Quickie Bio:
Mike is the best friend and boss to angry businessman Geoff Tipps. He has been threatened at gunpoint by Geoff on a number of occasions. He's a genuinely friendly, normal guy. He eventually married Cheryl, and allowed the unstable Geoff to be his best man, culminating in quite a bitter best man speech from Geoff at their medieval-themed reception.
In Series Two Mike, Brian, and Geoff get lost in the woods on the way to a plastics convention (due to Geoff's temper again). After he leaves in an attempt to find civilization, Geoff attacks him (believing him to be "the enemy") and thinks he's killed him. Geoff and Brian try to hide Mike's body and concoct a story that wolves killed him. Fortunately, Mike was only unconscious, and he comes to covered in dirt.
In Series Three, Mike is left with the undesirable task of sacking Geoff. Although he is once again threatened at gunpoint the sacking goes very well for him, considering. Later, when Brian goes missing, he tracks Geoff down to offer him his job back. Geoff lies and tells Mike that his budding career as a comedian is going very well before learning the reason behind Mike's visit, so Mike goes back to Royston Vasey without Geoff.
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Series 1
Series 2
Live at Drury Lane
Series 3
Appears in:
Series 1, Series 2, Live at Drury Lane, Series 3
Played By:
Mark Gatiss
Quickie Bio:
Brian is a friend and co-worker to angry business man Geoff. It was his fractured telling of the infamous Mau-Mau Joke that set Geoff off on a gun-threatening rampage. Katie, Geoff's ex-wife, left Geoff and married Brian.
In Series Two Brian, Mike, and Geoff get lost in the woods on the way to a plastics convention (due to Geoff's temper again). Brian gets injured and cannot walk, and is forced to help Geoff bury Brian (who Geoff thinks he accidentally killed).
In Series Three, we learn that Brian has gone missing. We eventually learn that Brian's wife, Katie, has been missing for 10 months. When Brian wanders into the Charity Shop and finds something that once belonged to her, he is attacked by Papa Lazarou, who has taken Katie as one of his wives. Tricked and captured by Papa Lazarou, Brian inquires about his wife, who we find is still alive. Papa then takes Brian to the circus, where we learn what Papa Lazarou does with the excess people in his life.
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Series 1
Series 2
Live at Drury Lane
Series 3
Appears in:
Series 3
Played By:
Mark Gatiss
Quickie Bio:
Geoff's old friend, he runs The Salmon of Knowledge, a comedy club in London. After Geoff bombs miserably at his first stand-up attempt, Don offers Geoff a quick job for 50 pounds -- to go to Ilford to pick up a car he purchased as a birthday present for his wife. Ultimately, the car is used in a terrorist bombing, and Don disappears...
Useless Trivia:
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Series 3
Appears in:
Series 1, Series 3
Played By:
???
Quickie Bio:
A sweet, heavyset lady who marries Mike Harris in series 1. In series 3 she visits Geoff Tipps in the hospital after his accident.
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Series 1
Series 3
Appears in:
Series 2
Played By:
John R. Thompson
Quickie Bio:
Speaker at the Plastics Convention that Geoff, Mike, and Brian are desperately trying to attend.
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Series 2
Appears in:
Series 3
Played By:
Gordon Cooper
Quickie Bio:
Someone who tries to help Geoff get around in London.
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Series 3
Appears in:
Series 3
Played By:
Polly - Cal Jaggers
Jezza - Jason Hall
Carl - Andy Nyman
Quickie Bio:
Performers who are on stage before Geoff. He overhears their lingo and excitement over seeing Jed Hunter in the audience.
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Series 3
Appears in:
Series 3
Played By:
Ilario Bifi-Pedro
Quickie Bio:
Receptionist at the hotel where Geoff is staying in London. Overhears Geoff's "I've already made it" lies to Mike, who has come to offer Geoff his job back.
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Series 3
Appears in:
Series 3
Played By:
Simon Vigar
Quickie Bio:
The newscaster who reports the news of the terrorist bombing that originated from the car Geoff picked up for Don Lynch.
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Series 3
Appears in:
Series 3
Played By:
Barbara Kirby
Quickie Bio:
One of the paramedics who arrives on the scene of the "big event" in series 3. She informs Mike that Geoff's face was damaged in the crash.
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Series 3
