Tubbs Tattsyrup

Appears in:
Series 1, Series 2, Live at Drury Lane, Series 3

Played By:
Steve Pemberton

Quickie Bio:
Tubbs is the co-proprietor of the Local Shop -- which is situated on a hill just above Royston Vasey proper. It is a Local Shop for local people. Tubbs and her husband (and brother), Edward, do not approve of non-local outsiders who do not understand their local customs and local ways. They are extremely distrustful of anyone not local (and usually end up killing anyone not local). Although their shop (which they inherited from their mother) is full of "precious things", they are loathe to part with their stock. Tubbs wears a wedding band made of string, eats hair sandwiches, and eats onions as though they were apples. Although she's a killer, there is a childlike innocence to her.

Although controlled by her domineering husband, Tubbs begins to see that there are things worth seeing outside of Royston Vasey. Apparently Edward has kept information from Tubbs for a long time. Feeling betrayed and curious, she is delighted when her estranged son David returns and offers to take her to London. Unfortunately, Edward "does" something to David, and Tubbs has no choice but to remain local.

Eventually, she and Edward strike out to find David (who has mutated a bit) a bride. After a few failed attempts at finding the proper "local" stock, they manage to capture Barbara, who agrees to wed their son. Sadly, on their son's wedding night, the Shop is burned to the ground (by locals who wrongly believe that they are responsible for the plague -- for once Tubbs and Edward are actually innocent of any crime). Barbara escapes, and eventually bares Tubbs' grandchildren -- twins!

At the beginning of the third season we discover that Tubbs and Edward survived the burning of the local shop (a little worse for wear) and they set out to find someplace new to call "local". Unfortunately, Tubbs doesn't realize that she's leading them down train-tracks, and she and Edward are mowed down by a train.

Useless Trivia:
  • Tubbs is based on a real-life shopkeeper in a little town near Brighton called Rottindean. Whilst on their first tour, the League-members wandered into her shop, and she proceeded to watch them all warily as though she didn't trust them. She also had a lot of snowstorms and tourist junk. She was so defensive of the "strangers" in her shop that the League (who are all nice guys, really) got rather offended at her distrust.
  • Tubbs eats onions as though they were apples -- an idea gleaned from an episode of "The Time, The Place" watched by Mark and Reece. The episode was on the abuse of hypnotism, and was also where they got the idea of Professor Erno Breastpinch'd.


  • Quotes:
  • Can I help you at all?
  • This is a local shop for local people. There's nothing for you here.
  • Twelvty
  • My insides are all wrong
  • We didn't burn him!
  • I can I can't
  • I have a husband, you know
  • He covets the precious things of the shop
  • Lines and lines and lines and lines...
  • There is a Swansea!
  • I was to see Les Mis!
  • Come for me when the firey ball weighs heavily in the sky...


  • back
    Series 1

    Series 2

    Live at Drury Lane

    Series 3
    Edward Tattsyrup

    Appears in:
    Series 1, Series 2, Live at Drury Lane, Series 3

    Played By:
    Reece Shearsmith

    Quickie Bio:
    Edward is co-proprietor of the Local Shop -- which is situated on a hill just above Royston Vasey proper. It is a Local Shop for local people. Edward and his wife (and sister), Tubbs, do not approve of non-local outsiders who do not understand their local customs and local ways. They are extremely distrustful of anyone not local (and usually end up killing anyone not local). Although their shop (which they inherited from their mother) is full of "precious things", they are loathe to part with their stock. Edward "was in a war" and has seen more of the outside world than Tubbs.

    Edward feels particularly threatened when a new road offers the chance of new strangers coming to town. He does everything he can think of to thwart the roads progress, including killing off road surveyors and stealing zoo-animals with which to make a "beast" and scare the construction workers away. He witnesses his wife being lured by the idea of seeing something new, and upset with him for keeping information about the outside world from her. The final blow is learning that his estranged son, David, is behind the road's construction. Tubbs and David make plans to leave him behind in Royston Vasey, but Edward is able to persuade David (by what means I cannot begin to imagine) to live "locally".

    Eventually, Edward decides that it is time to find David (who has mutated a bit) a bride. After a few failed attempts at finding the proper "local" stock, they manage to capture Barbara, who agrees to wed their son. Sadly, on their son's wedding night, the Shop is burned to the ground (by locals who wrongly believe that they are responsible for the plague -- for once Tubbs and Edward are actually innocent of any crime). Barbara escapes, and eventually bares Edward's grandchildren -- a set of twins.

    At the beginning of the third season we discover that Tubbs and Edward survived the burning of the local shop (a little worse for wear) and they set out to find someplace new to call "local". Blinded during the incident, Edward relies on Tubbs to lead the way, but she doesn't realize that she's leading them down train-tracks. She and Edward finally meet their end as a fast-moving train mows them down.

    Useless Trivia:
  • Tubbs and Edward are based on a real-life shopkeeper in a little town near Brighton called Rottindean. Whilst on their first tour, the League-members wandered into her shop, and she proceeded to watch them all warily as though she didn't trust them. She also had a lot of snowstorms and tourist junk. She was so defensive of the "strangers" in her shop that the League (who are all nice guys, really) got rather offended at her distrust.
  • In Series 1, Episode 1, Edward's teeth don't have that filed-down look they obtain in later episodes.
  • The stunningly gorgeous shot of Edward lit by lightening as he watches the workmen uncover "the beast" (Series 1, episode 3) was based on a famous 1910 photo of Charles Ogle as the original Frankenstein's monster.


  • Quotes:
  • What's going on? What all this shouting? We'll have no trouble here!
  • His mind has been corrupted by colors, sounds, and shapes!
  • Strangers would come to the shop [...] in gangs of one or two!
  • You heard the man Tubbs. Get undressed.
  • Is his identity known?
  • You won't catch me with my trousers down!
  • Don't worry, Tubbs. They won't get far!
  • How much to leave the shop and never come back? Seventy? Eighty? Alright a pound.




  • back
    Series 1

    Series 2

    Live at Drury Lane

    Series 3
    David Tattsyrup

    Appears in:
    Series 1, Series 2 (kind-of)

    Played By:
    Mark Gatiss

    Quickie Bio:
    When we first see David he is amazingly normal, well-spoken, and charming. It is hard to believe he's the product of Tubbs and Edward! Tubbs doesn't even recognize him. David had gone away to college in London, started a construction business, and eventually fought for the contract to get a road built through Royston Vasey so he could reconnect with his parents. When Edward shunned his son, David offered to take his mother back with him to London. Somehow, Edward convinced David to remain "local", and immediately David's appearance began to change. By Series 2, David had become... something else. Something monstrous, tall, and covered in hair. A few Royston Vasey inhabitants became playmates for a short while (including Benjamin Denton and Haig), eventually his parents decided it was time for him to wed. They eventually kidnapped Barbara, who was up for the idea. Unfortunately, David only got to experience one night of wedded bliss before he died -- trapped in the shop as it burned to the ground (due to a misunderstanding on the part of the townspeople, who thought that the Tattsyrups were somehow responsible for the plague). Barbara survived and bore his twins -- a son and a daughter.

    Useless Trivia:
  • During David and Barbara's wedding, Barbara mistakenly repeats "David Charles Tattsyrup" as "Charles David Tattsyrup", which is a send-up of Lady Diana saying "Philip Charles" instead of "Charles Philip" at her own wedding.




  • back
    Series 1

    Series 2
    Martin Lee

    Appears in:
    Series 1

    Played By:
    Mark Gatiss

    Quickie Bio:
    Martin comes to Royston Vasey to meet up with his friend Benjamin for a hiking trip. He wanders into the Local Shop and makes the mistake of attempting to buy one of Tubbs' precious things (a snowstorm). He's never seen or heard from again (although Tubbs and Edward are seen wearing his things - oh yes, and according to Tubbs they didn't burn him...).



    back
    Series 1
    Bobby Woodward

    Appears in:
    Series 1

    Played By:
    Mark Gatiss

    Quickie Bio:
    Comes to the local shop looking for a missing boy (Martin) after his wallet was found nearby. He's suspicious, but is willing to search elsewhere until Tubbs slips up ("We didn't burn him!"). He meets an end very similar to Martin's.

    Useless Trivia:
  • The Policeman was named Bobby Woodward after the actor who played the policeman in The Wicker Man, one of The League's favorite movies.




  • back
    Series 1
    Mr. Wynt

    Appears in:
    Series 1

    Played By:
    Mark Gatiss

    Quickie Bio:
    A surveyor for Royston Vasey's new road, along with his associate, Mr. Kidd. They need the shop to be torn down so the road can go as planned. The endure a strange ritual involving tar, a drum, and Tubbs dancing. They won't get far.

    Useless Trivia:
  • Mr. Wynt and his partner, Mr. Kidd, are named for the homosexual pair of assassins in the James Bond movie Diamonds are Forever.




  • back
    Series 1
    Mr. Kidd

    Appears in:
    Series 1

    Played By:
    Stephen Chapman
    A surveyor for Royston Vasey's new road, along with his associate, Mr. Wynt. They need the shop to be torn down so the road can go as planned. The endure a strange ritual involving tar, a drum, and Tubbs dancing. They won't get far.

    Quickie Bio:
    A surveyor for Royston Vasey's new road, along with his associate, Mr. Wynt. They need the shop to be torn down so the road can go as planned. The endure a strange ritual involving tar, a drum, and Tubbs dancing. They won't get far.

    Useless Trivia:

  • Mr. Kidd and his partner, Mr. Wynt, are named for the homosexual pair of assassins in the James Bond movie Diamonds are Forever.




  • back
    Series 1
    John the Construction Worker

    Appears in:
    Series 1

    Played By:
    Richard Gardner

    Quickie Bio:
    A PQ Construction worker who wants to pick Tubbs' brain (ask for directions), Tubbs damages John's ears when she discovers that road connect Royston Vasey with non-local places. He also witnesses the unearthing of the "beast of Royston Vasey"...



    back
    Series 1
    Foreman

    Appears in:
    Series 1

    Played By:
    John Flitcroft

    Quickie Bio:
    Visits Lance's joke shop. Unearths the beast



    back
    Series 1
    Lady Hiker

    Appears in:
    Series 2

    Played By:
    Alison Lloyd

    Quickie Bio:
    An innocent woman who goes out for a walk and gets snared by Edward (who is seeking a bride for David). After discovering that she's not local, Edward leaves her so he can devise an alternate plan with Tubbs. She eventually drags herself to the hospital, which is overrun with nosebleed victims.



    back
    Series 2
    Paramedic

    Appears in:
    Series 2

    Played By:
    Martin Crocker

    Quickie Bio:
    A paramedic delivering medical supplies who wanders into the shop to see if they have any petrol. Edward steals his car keys and uses his vehicle to find David a new bride.



    back
    Series 2
    Postman & Crowd Man

    Appears in:
    Series 1 & Series 2

    Played By:
    Les Doherty

    Quickie Bio:
    I'm not sure whether or not the postman and the crowd man are supposed to be the same character, but they are played by the same actor and I see no reason why they might be different people, so I'm listing them together until I learn differently...

    Benjamin witnesses the postman collecting the mail

    One of the people Benjamin runs into when he attempts to leave Royston Vasey for a second time. He inadvertently helps trigger Benjamin's memories, and misinterprets Benjamin's exclamation as proof that the people of the Local Shop are responsible for the plague. He becomes a member of the angry mob that ultimately burns the Local Shop to the ground.



    back
    Series 1

    Series 2
    Crowd Man 2

    Appears in:
    Series 1 & Series 2

    Played By:
    Ian Tully

    Quickie Bio:
    Another member of the angry mob that ultimately burns the Local Shop to the ground.

    Useless Trivia:
  • Ian Tully is a properties buyer for The League of Gentlemen Second Series.
  • Ian also plays the Base Player for the newly reformed Creme Brulee.


  • Quotes:
  • Don't touch his meat!




  • back
    Series 2
    Young Woman & Crowd Woman

    Appears in:
    Series 1, Series 2

    Played By:
    Amanda Lockett

    Quickie Bio:
    I'm not sure whether or not the turtle-infested-pram lady and the crowd woman are supposed to be the same character, but they are played by the same actress and I see no reason why they might be different people, so I'm listing them together until I learn differently...

    When we first see this woman she is strolling with her baby in front of Lance's Joke Shop, where a window-washer discovers that a de-shelled turtle is in his cleaning-bucket. He throws the turtle in disgust and it ends up landing in the baby buggy (with the woman none-the-wiser, although her baby certainly notices).

    Later (in Series 2), she is one of the people Benjamin runs into when he attempts to leave Royston Vasey for a second time. She helps trigger Benjamin's memories, and becomes a member of the angry mob who ultimately burns down the Local Shop.



    back
    Series 1

    Series 2



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