Two Fat Ladies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Two Fat Ladies was a British television cooking program that originally ran from 1996 to 1998 on BBC Two. It starred the late Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright travelling the United Kingdom on a Triumph Thunderbird with sidecar (which Paterson drove) to various destinations (such as an army camp or an all-girls' school) where they would prepare large meals, often with unusual ingredients and little regard for healthfulness. Both ladies were very fond of strong flavours, and would often use things like anchovies, garlic, and various herbs and spices quite liberally. On the other hand, the word "supermarket" was a dirty word, and vegetarians were often scoffed at. One particular case is when Jennifer is making Kedgeree, and while describing its origins as an Indian peasant dish of rice and lentils (saying that the maid of a colonel who brought back the recipe, "got rid of all the lentils, never had seen the rotten things in her life"), Clarissa exclaims "Hurrah! Get rid of all the lentils!" "My God you'd have no idea how randy it makes vegetarians." "It's why I always see ripped packets of them at health food shops you know." Jennifer asked why did she see ripped packets, and Clarissa replied "They want to get at them, in a frenzy." They emphasized the importance of using fresh ingredients of the best quality you can find.

Jennifer was Catholic, and always was terrified of coming up against a vegetarian. Often found with a cigarette and a drink in her hand, Jennifer was unconcerned for niceties like fashion or social convention. Clarissa, on the other hand, had long ago given up all her vices, and is usually sipping a glass of water as an interesting counterpoint to Jennifer's "harder" living. Both, however, were utterly unconcerned with fat or calories, of course.

Some of their appeal seemed to come from the idea that they appeared to get on well with each other while being so different and so opinionated. In fact the BBC site alleges, quoting the show's producer Patricia Llewellyn, that they almost never even spoke to each other. But they were both wise enough to see that there was a ready audience for TV based on "characters" which was to their mutual benefit. It is interesting that Clarissa has not raised this since Jennifer's death, though she often refers to the programme.

The programme was strongly disliked by many professional caterers for their apparent lack of hygiene, but paradoxically it is probable that this, along with their proposal that "fat is good" was a major part of the appeal to those who watched them. Such an example is also related to Jennifer's Kegderee recipe, when she says at the end "And just before serving, add great big dollops of butter. That's always a good idea." This was possibly the first example of a "comfort food programme". The irony that the series was terminated after Jennifer's death from lung cancer, 90% of whose fatalities are smokers like herself, may have appealed less.

The show ran for three seasons; it ended when, during taping of the fourth season, Paterson died (in 1999, from lung cancer).

Besides describing the hosts, the term "two fat ladies" is a bingo call for the number 88. The motorcycle in the programme bore the appropriate registration number TFL 88.

It also appeared on the Food Network in the USA, and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation station in Australia.

[edit] In the Media and Popular Culture

'Two Fat Ladies' is also the name of a popular New Zealand punk rock band. Part of the Rebel High Records community, they are based in Dunedin.

The show was parodied on Royal Canadian Air Farce as "One Fat Lady" with the late John Morgan as Dickson-Wright making a fatty and sugary treat consisting of goose fat, greasy animal lard, a packet of Sugar Twin (if you're watching your figure like she is) and blackstrap molasses. It was known as "the same tasty treat that killed the other fat lady".

The two fat ladies appeared on an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch, fighting against Emeril Lagasse