Lauren Cooper

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Dame Lauren Cooper
First appearance	16 February 2004
Last appearance	25 December 2007
Created by	Catherine Tate/Derren Litten
Portrayed by	Catherine Tate
Information
Date of birth	1992
Date of death	2007 (aged 15)

Lauren Alesha Masheka Tanesha Felicia Jane Cooper is a fictional character in The Catherine Tate Show. Lauren is one of the show's main characters and is played by Catherine Tate. The character is "killed off" in the 2007 Christmas Special which aired on December 25.

Lauren is a comprehensive school student with a surly attitude and was most widely known for her phrase "Am I bovvered?" (i.e. bothered - the "v" in the word takes the place of the "th" that should be there; see th-fronting). When feeling angry or embarrassed, she frequently replies with defensive responses such as "Am I bovvered?", "Do I look bovvered?" or "Are you disrespecting me?", among others.

Both the physical appearance and the behaviour of Lauren and her friends are mock stereotypes of the Chav subculture.

She was made a Dame at the end of her Sketch on the Royal Variety Performance 2005.

Contents 1 The Catherine Tate Show 2 Charity sketches 3 Death 4 Catchphrases 4.1 Influence 5 References 6 See also

[edit] The Catherine Tate Show

In series one, sketches feature Lauren arguing with authority figures such as train conductors and teachers, as well as her best friend Liese Jackson (played by Niky Wardley) and love interest Ryan Perkins (played by Mathew Horne). She normally utters her trademark catchphrases only after being provoked or embarrassed. Lauren is one of the most popular characters with fans, and is arguably the most recognisable from the show. She is listed as "Fly Girl" on the series one DVD.

In series two, Lauren becomes more offensive than ever before. One notable change is that Lauren starts being insulting without provocation, while in the past, her catchphrase of "Am I bovvered?" was only used after she believed that she had been wronged in some way. She is now aged 15 and, according to one of her teachers, in grave danger of leaving school with no GCSEs.

In the 2005 Christmas special, her singing is revealed as poor when she, Liese and Ryan as "the Flygirl Collective and MC Ryan" audition for Fame Academy. In their audition, they sing their own rendition of "Shut Up" by the Black Eyed Peas which is poorly received by Richard Park.

In series three, she spends the summer holidays working at "Billy's Burger Bar". Her attitude at school remains the same as before. She has a new rival for Ryan's affections (played by Natalie Cassidy), and falls for a fake marriage proposal from Ryan. She is due to marry Ryan in the final episode, but he jilts her at the altar because of his embarrassment of Lauren after she sings a very squeaky, off-key version of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" to him.

Despite Lauren's blatant disregard for authority, and chav-like demeanour, she sometimes shows surprising intelligence. She is well-versed in the Periodic Table, she apparently knows Shakespeare and she is fluent in French (once surprising her French teacher by asking her "Regardez mon visage. Suis-je bovvered? Est-ce que vous appellez ma mère une Pikey?"), although she refuses to speak it for an oral exam.

[edit] Charity sketches

Lauren made an appearance during the BBC's Comic Relief telethon in March 2005. The sketch features fans of McFly asking questions to the group, where Lauren decides to ask, "Why are you so rubbish?" When told by Simon Amstell, who is hosting the segment, that only positive questions are allowed, Lauren uses a variety of her catch phrases, including "Am I bovvered?" ("I ain't McBovvered") and continues to question them in a harsh manner. Lauren is then "ordered" to ask a more positive question to the group, and confuses them with Busted, asking "Are you gutted that Charlie left?" When told to leave the set, on her way she asks Danny Jones from McFly to sign her knee, walking away promptly saying "You can't even spell."^[1]

In November 2005, Lauren appeared in a sketch for the Children in Need telethon. The sketch is a crossover with EastEnders. The scene is set when Lauren arrives in Walford in search of revenge on Stacey Slater, who has apparently stolen her boyfriend. She looks for her in the launderette, where she finds Little Mo Mitchell, who tells her that Stacey is not there. She then makes an appearance in the Queen Vic, and Peggy Mitchell finds herself getting increasingly frustrated with Lauren, who asks, "Are you a Cockney? Are you a Cockney sparrow?" (pronounced "cockerney").^[2] Peggy then orders Lauren out of her pub with immediate effect.

In November 2005, Lauren was a featured sketch at the 77th Royal Variety Performance. After Lauren embarrasses herself in front of the audience, Ryan points out that the Queen is laughing at her. Looking up at the Royal Box, she asks "Are you disrespecting me?" and mimicks the Queen's accent, asking, "Is one bovvered?.^[3]

On March 16, 2007, Tate appeared twice on Comic Relief as Lauren. Guests in the sketches included David Tennant. Tennant plays her new English teacher, Mr. Logan, who after being goaded by Lauren for his Scottish accent and resemblance to The Doctor, is finally pushed over the edge when she insults Shakespeare. He threatens to fail her, and Lauren proceeds to do her "Am I bovvered?" routine in Shakespearean style followed by a recitation of Sonnet 130 off the top of her head. Mr. Logan then reveals he actually is the Doctor, as he produces the sonic screwdriver from inside his jacket and turn her into a 5" Rose Tyler action figure with it, misquoting Romeo and Juliet by saying "A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet". The figure proclaims that it "still ain't bovvered". Tony Blair also makes a cameo appearance, when Lauren is on work experience at Downing Street. Upon Lauren attempting to tell Blair who the most famous person she had met was, he asks her if he is "bovvered", much to the astonishment of Lauren. He then instructs her to "look at his face" and acknowledge that "no part of it is bovvered". He then orders her out of his office, prompting Lauren shout back that the most famous person she has met is Ross Kemp.^[4][5]

[edit] Death

In the 2007 Christmas special of The Catherine Tate Show, Lauren is killed after falling from a waterfall while kayaking,^[6][7] having ignored warnings from a local man, after asking him "Are you a yokel?" and "Is your cousin your mum? Is your dad your brother? Are you your own father?" At the end of the episode, Liese and Ryan are seen standing beside her gravestone, which is inscribed with the message "I still ain't bovvered." Lauren's date of birth and date of death are listed on her gravestone as "1992 to 2007", which conflicts with her having been described as aged 15 in series 2 (2005) and having intended to get married in series 3 (2006) (the minimum legal age in the UK is 16).

[edit] Catchphrases

Some of Lauren's most well-known catchphrases are:

• "Am I bovvered?"
• "Am I bovvered though?"
• "Look at my face"
• "Is it bovvered?"
• "Arks Me If I'm bovvered!"
• "Look, face, bovvered?"
• "I ain't bovvered!"
• "Are you disrespectin' me?"
• "Are you disrespectin' my family?"
• "Are you calling my Mum a pikey?"
• "Are you calling my Dad a wino?"
• "Is it?"
• "All right?"
• "Can I arks you a question?"
• "Innit though!"
• "Well shut up then!"
• "Rubbish, you are."
• "I still ain't bovvered."
• "What I just want to arks you a question though"
• "I'm not bein' funny or nothin'"
• "It's rubbish here."

Some of Ryan and Liese's catchphrases are:

• "That is well bad!"
• "That is well shameful!"
• "Innit though"
• "Is it?"
• "Take the shame!"
• "Take the shame, though!"
• "He left you stood there like a numpty/muppet."

[edit] Influence

In 2006 Tate's catchphrase "bovvered" was named Word of the Year and was poised to enter the Oxford English Dictionary ^[8]. A spokesperson for the OED commented:

""'Am I bovvered?' and its follow-up, 'Does my face look bovvered?' had already come to be seen as the perfect expression of a generation of teenagers and their speaking style."

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• The Catherine Tate Show
• The Catherine Tate Show characters