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

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

, 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 British sitcom, sitcom ''Men Behaving Badly'', and all of the four ITV Pantos. He co-wrote the 2006 film ''Flushed Away'', created an ad ...

, and directed by John Henderson.

Plot

Dylan Moran Dylan William Moran ( ; born ) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor and artist. 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 Pegg in films such as ' ...

starred as boy next door Ian Lyons, who recently

eloped Elopement is a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, sometimes involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting married without parental approval. A ...

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'' (1994) and Jess in the television drama ''Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'' (1990)''.' ...

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

Frank Finlay Francis Finlay, (6 August 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in ''Othello'' (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in '' Casanova''.

) breeds

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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. She played Alice Tinker in the BBC comedy ''The Vicar of Dibley'' and Honey Thacker in the film ''Notting Hill'' (1999). Beginning her career in 1987 o ...

as her sister and

Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. His film roles include the voice of Darth Maul in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (1999), Pete in '' Shaun of the Dead' ...

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 a British actor and comedian. Television credits include '' Ghost Train'' (1991), '' Smith & Jones'' (1997–1998), '' Brass Eye'' (1997–2001), '' Kiss Me Kate'' (1998), '' The Zig and Zag Show'' (1998), '' Ho ...

), 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 φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

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 in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

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 apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

s in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. 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 Welsh actor of film, television, stage and radio. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 episodes of the 1989–1998 series o ...

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 (1998)

The first series was broadcast at 10pm on Tuesdays, from 24 February until 31 March 1998.

Series 2 (1999)

The second series was broadcast at 10pm on Wednesdays, from 10 November until 22 December 1999.

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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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

References

External links

* * {{Simon Nye BBC television sitcoms 1990s British sitcoms 1998 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings British English-language television shows Television shows set in England