''How Do You Want Me?'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

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 Kensington Films & Television, written by

Simon Nye Simon Nye (born 29 July 1958) is an English screenwriter, best known for television comedy. He wrote the hit sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly'', and all of the four ITV Pantos. He co-wrote the 2006 film ''Flushed Away'', created an adaptation of Ric ...

, and directed by John Henderson.

Plot

Dylan Moran Dylan William Moran ( ; born 3 November 1971) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor, artist and poet. He is best known for his observational comedy, the comedy series ''Black Books'' (which he co-wrote and starred in), and his work with Simon Pe ...

starred as boy next door Ian Lyons, who recently

eloped Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

with country girl Lisa Yardley (

Charlotte Coleman Charlotte Ninon Coleman (3 April 1968 – 14 November 2001) was an English actress best known for playing Scarlett in the film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'', Jess in the television drama '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', and her childhood ...

). At the show's start, after a year living in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

they move to the village of Snowle, where her intimidating father (

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English stage, film and television actor, Oscar-nominated for a supporting role as Iago in Laurence Olivier's 1965 film adaptation of ''Othello''. In 1983, Finlay was directed by Ital ...

) breeds

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

s. He and most of Lisa's family (which included

Emma Chambers Emma Gwynedd Mary Chambers (11 March 1964 – 21 February 2018) was an English actress who performed in television, film, and the theatre. Beginning her career in 1987 on the British stage, Chambers first drew critical attention for her portr ...

as her sister and

Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...

as her thuggish brother) take a strong dislike to Ian, and much of the comedy comes from how Ian copes with life with her family and village life in general. The situation is also complicated by Lisa's ex-boyfriend Derek (

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, ''Brass Eye'', ''Big Train'', ''Spaced'', ''Jam (TV series), Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', ''Upstart ...

), who still loves her. The series' title is a reference to the trade Ian takes up within the village, buying the business of the local

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

despite having no formal training in photography (he had previously managed a comedy club in London). Photography plays an important part within the stories; the beginning of series one shows Ian and Lisa outside a country church having

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

photos taken; this is then shown to be a staged event arranged by Lisa's family due to their unhappiness at them eloping and marrying abroad prior to the series starting. Ian first realises the extent of the family's hatred for him when he witnesses Lisa's mother cutting him out of the wedding pictures at the end of the first episode. Further episodes also have photography playing a key role, including an episode where nude photos of Lisa get circulated around the village after her brother and his friends discover them. Another episode sees Lisa's sister approach Ian for a photo shoot, and her disappointment when he is unable to photograph her looking glamorous and beautiful. There is a running joke throughout the series of Ian wanting to make a book of photographs of country

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

s in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. Series 2 ends with Ian and Lisa sitting in their car debating whether to leave the village; Ian cannot bear to live there any more due to the repeated aggression shown by Lisa's family to him but Lisa does not want to live in London.

Cast

as Ian Lyons *

as Lisa Lyons *

as Astley Yardley, Lisa's father * Diana Fairfax as Pam Yardley, Lisa's mother *

as Helen Yardley, Lisa's sister *

as Dean Yardley, Lisa's brother * Simon Bateson as Warren Yardley, Lisa's brother *

as Derek Few *

Clive Merrison Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...

as Norriswood *

Geraldine McNulty Geraldine McNulty is an English stage and television actress. She has played the character of Mrs Raven in '' My Hero'', and had guest appearances in '' Neverwhere'', '' Gimme Gimme Gimme'', ''The Vicar of Dibley'', ''The Smoking Room'' and '' ...

as Honor Deacon

Episodes

There were two series of ''How Do You Want Me?'', broadcast in 1998 and 1999, each with six episodes.

Series 1

The first series was broadcast at 10pm on Tuesdays, from 24 February until 31 March 1998. # No One Can Hear You Scream # Floppy But Not Too Floppy # Monstrous # Woof! # The Hidden World of Country Fire Stations # Sausage, Balloon, Bum

Series 2

The second series was broadcast at 10pm on Wednesdays, from 10 November until 22 December 1999. # White Pubic Hair # I'm Not An Alcoholic # Nude Modelling Module # Bad Builders # Ready Steady Kill # The Pleasures of Village Life

Media releases

"''How Do You Want Me?'': The Complete Collection" was released on DVD in the UK on 3 July 2006. In 2010, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' ranked the serial at number 16 in their list of "The Top 50 TV Dramas of All Time".

References

External links

* *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, how_do_you_want_me BBC television sitcoms 1990s British sitcoms 1998 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings English-language television shows Television shows set in England