''Kate & Koji'' is a British television

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

produced by

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...

for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. It was created and written by

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

and

Guy Jenkin Guy Jenkin (born 27 April 1955) is a British film director and comedy writer who is best known for working together with Andy Hamilton on sitcoms and comedies such as ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), '' Outnumbered'' (2007–2014), and '' ...

. The show aired from 18 March 2020 to 13 April 2022. The series follows Kate (

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethyn ...

), a working-class café owner in neglected coastal resort Seagate in south

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, who develops a strong friendship with regular customer Koji (

Jimmy Akingbola James Olatokunbo Akingbola (born 7 April 1978) is an English television, theatre and film actor. Early life Jimmy Akingbola was born in London to parents of the Yoruba tribe who had emigrated from Nigeria. In 1996, Akingbola started at the A ...

), an asylum-seeking doctor. For Series 2, Akingbola was replaced by Okorie Chukwu.

Plot

Kate (

) is a somewhat prickly, working-class woman who runs an old-fashioned café in neglected coastal resort Seagate in south

. She soon develops a strong but volatile friendship with regular customer Koji (

in Series 1 and Okorie Chukwu in Series 2). After grilling him on why he doesn't spend any money, he reveals that he doesn't work; although he is a doctor, he is also an asylum-seeker. After word gets out, Koji becomes the unofficial general practitioner and holds 'surgery' in the café, racking up customers for Kate, who offers him free food to keep the scheme going.

Production

The exterior of the seaside café was filmed at Frasiers Pie and Mash Shop in

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

, standing in for the fictional seaside town of Seagate. The production also filmed exteriors of The Divers Arms pub and various scenes around the promenade and

Herne Bay Pier Herne Bay Pier was the third pier to be built at Herne Bay, Kent for passenger paddle steamer, steamers. It was notable for its length of and for appearing in the opening sequence of Ken Russell's first feature film French Dressing (1964 film) ...

and an exterior scene at Herne Bay industrial estate. A further sequence was shot on the promenade featuring a storm and its after effects.

Cast

as Kate Abbott, the owner of the café *

(Series 1) and Okorie Chukwu (Series 2) as Koji, an African asylum seeker doctor working in the café *

Blake Harrison Blake Harrison is an English actor, comedian and dancer. He is best known for playing Neil Sutherland in the BAFTA-winning E4 comedy ''The Inbetweeners'' and more recently as 'Medium' Dan, in the ITV sitcom Kate & Koji since 2020. Career H ...

as 'Medium' Dan, Kate's nephew who works as a decorator *

Barbara Flynn Barbara Flynn (born Barbara Joy McMurray, 5 August 1948) is an English actress. She first came to prominence playing Freda Ashton in the ITV drama series '' A Family at War'' (1970–1972). She went on to play the milk woman in the BBC comedy ...

as Councillor Lavinia Bone, a snobbish council member and Kate's nemesis *

Victor McGuire Victor McGuire (born 17 March 1964 in Tuebrook, Liverpool) is an English actor perhaps best known for playing Jack Boswell in series 1–3, 5-7 of Carla Lane's ''Bread'', Ron Wheatcroft in every series of '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' and its 2016 ...

as Mr Mullholland, a regular at the café *

Rosalind Ayres Rosalind Ayres (born 7 December 1946) is an English actress, director and producer. Active since 1970, Ayres is well known for her role in the 1997 film ''Titanic'', in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon. Her husband, Martin Jarvis, playe ...

as Iris, another regular at the café * Gary Lammin as The Postman

Cancellation

On 18 November 2022, ITV had announced ''Kate & Koji'' would not return for its third series due to a drop in ratings.

Series overview

Episodes

Series 1 (2020)

Series 2 (2022)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kate and Koji 2020 British television series debuts 2022 British television series endings 2020s British sitcoms English-language television shows ITV sitcoms Television series about immigration Television series by Hat Trick Productions Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre Television shows set in Essex Television shows shot in Kent Works about immigration to Europe