Fat Friends

I watched this with my mum who is going through slimming world at the moment and we both agreed that it is so relatable. The show markets itself as a comedy about a group of people going through a weight loss group.

The one thing I liked about the show the most is that it really feels like an ensemble piece; each main character gets their own episode so we were really able to see the personal issues they were all facing. No character felt like they were 'more important' than the others. Not only this, but in these episodes we were able to see how they struggled not only with weight but also with other things. We saw issues with relationships, religion, financial stress as well as a variety of eating disorders too.

The show did well at humanising all of the characters and not making them seem like greedy monsters which a lot of other shows about fat people seem to do. Furthermore, the show managed to exaggerate things and add comedic value in all the right places and overall, it's just a really great dramatic comedy that hits all the right places.

I only recently found this show, almost a quarter of a century after it first aired.

Whilst the show is vey much a product of its time, a lot of the comedy is still relatable and there are some fantastic characters.

It is a window on how much society has changed... Carol, the spiky slimming club leader, is nasty and spiteful towards her members, behaviour which wouldn't wash nowadays.

The show starts off almost as an anthology series, with each episode focusing on the life of one of the main characters on the show, with the other characters playing supporting roles.

As the show progresses, the format changes into a more regular drama with Betty (Alison Steadman) and Kelly (Ruth Jones) and their respective families becoming the main focus of the show.

Series 1 and 2 are very strong, for the final 2 series, the character development goes a little off course and they resort to stunt plot lines to keep the show going. Some of the character behaviour seems a little off, sacrificing the character for the sake of story.

One of the annoying things is how the show loses characters, in most cases, with no or little explanation, through the run of the series. Many of the new characters that were introduced later on didn't feel as well developed as the originals.

Overall, it's a fun, enjoyable comedy drama set at the beginning of the 2000s with a window to that era.

Great cast make this very funny satire on the obsession to lose weight. The great thing about this series is that it does not present fat people as pathetic trying to mock them but as normal people which one can identify with. If you like good comedies, Don't miss!

What can I say about the show, it started off good and then Coronation Street decided we want to take some of those actors for our show and then those actors just randomly disappeared from Fat friends and they were damn good characters. James Corden's character was terrible and he was the one of the characters that kind of hung around sadley, Actress Gaynor Faye her mother wrote this so it was only inevitable that she was going to stay in the show now credit where credit is due she didn't get all the scenes there was no favouritism each character had it meat and potatoes it was just really annoying how how some of the characters from season 1 disappeared because they were brilliant we invested time in them and then ITV decided they wanted to steal them for Coronation Street and turn them into mopey dopey dull characters that we couldn't wait to die and in fact the whole family was written out after a year or two. Lynda Baron was a great edition because she's a wonderful actress and she needs to star in more TV shows. So is Lisa Rylie.

Weight Watchers does everything to be able to identify the factors that make people overeat. Weight Watchers tries to think of ways to help people watch their habits and the 'triggers' that make them reach for food when caloric intake for the day is already enough.

It would be natural for Weight Watchers to have a presence in Prime Time TV, showing these situations with wit and wisdom, featuring talented actors.

Too late! It's already been done. 'Fat Friends' looks at the lives of characters and spins stories that make food not a villain but understandably comforting when stress has reached a certain level. In short, it's what everyone at a WW meeting can relate to.

Not by accident, every episode seems to have a 'weigh-in' at a group meeting. Ding! Ding! Ding! This familiar ritual is not the WW meeting and weigh-in of the sensitive sympathetic crowd. The leader is a stern taskmaster - that's the British twist to the dieting weekly check- in.

All the actors are good, the writing is funny and insightful. I particularly liked hearing a young James Corden explain that he needs to be 'big.'

Well worth watching if you can see it on amazon instant video. It's probably also available on DVD.