Now begins my paean to the actor known as Rebecca Front. Who, who, WHO, you may ask? She's that lady from that thing... you know...
The first time I realised I'd seen Rebecca Front in almost everything (IMDB it) was in 'Nighty Night', as Cathy, a character I can best describe as a mouse doing an impersonation of a human. Oh, how I loathed her. Cathy was so simpering that even though she had a douchey husband, was suffering from MS and was being constantly undermined by a psychotic nympho, she couldn't elicit sympathy from the audience. So when I subsequently encountered Rebecca Front on the idiot box, I bristled. Cathy stuck with me, and she smilingly simpered in the dark recesses of my mind.
And then I watched the show that changed everything. 'The Thick of It', the best TV show ever*, showcased Front in all of her neurotic glory. Her character, Nicola Murray, was a minister plucked from the bottom of the pile to head the most pointless department in the English government. Nicola was flappable yet likeable, and I realised, Front wasn't Cathy! Front was just so good at playing her that I'd mistaken her for a putz. Cathy slinked out of my mind and was replaced with the thought that Front is genuinely one of the funniest people I've ever seen on TV. She takes her characters and runs with them.
So... um... WHY ISN'T SHE MORE FAMOUS? This treasure, this jewel, this veteran of 'Alan Partridge', 'Big Train', 'Absolute Power', 'Catherine Tate', 'Grandma's House' and something called 'Roger And The Rottentrolls'. This gross miscarriage of justice must be rectified! Shout her name from the rooftops! Plaster her mug all over your walls! Tell your friends about this blog! Or, at the very least, hopefully you'll be able to put a name to her face.
*Suck it: 'Arrested Development', 'The Wire', 'Six Feet Under', 'The Sopranos', etc.