Emily Howard (Little Britain)

Eddie "Emily" Howard is a character from the TV and radio series Little Britain, which aired on the BBC.

Emily is an awkward and extremely unconvincing transvestite. Accompanied (from series 2) by best friend Florence Rose, the two attempt to pass themselves off as women, almost always unsuccessfully.

Character

Eddie Howard spends most of the series assuming his female identity, Emily Howard, and attempts to persuade others that "she" is a lady, usually because he is fond of transvestitism, but sometimes with darker motives, such as entering a women's changing room. Despite his efforts, he is always completely unsuccessful, having convinced only one person in the entire series (which was thwarted when the man in question inadvertently catches him in the men's restroom). Rather than trying to look and act like a modern woman, Emily and Florence wear some old, out-dated frocks and other general attire from the Georgian era, and their behaviour mirrors that of stereotypical upper-class Georgian women. This includes talking in a high-pitched voiced, using a similarly-pitched laugh, and feigning fragility and a lack of strength. They will also use the word "lady" in every single sentence, usually as an adjective, and often end long, descriptive sentences with the statement "...and shit." They are also in the habit of using French words in normal conversation.

In each sketch, Emily and Florence will make heavily exaggerated attempts to convince other people that they are women, usually in normal surroundings, such as in a dress shop, or at the pub. The people in question quickly realise they are actually men and talk to them as such. Their efforts to convince others they are woman are often met with confusion and irritation. Additionally, in their efforts, they will talk in exceptionally loud voices in the hope that others will hear them - ironically while pretending to deflect attention away from them (e.g. "Pay no heed!"). Eventually, they will either leave, or give up their act and act normally. Similarly, when Howard is angry or irritated, he will speak sternly in his normal male voice. Otherwise, they will eventually give themselves away by giving in to stereotypically masculine behaviour, such as fixing a car, or playing football. They are so desperate to be seen as women that Howard once refuses an x-ray on his broken leg because it may reveal his true gender, and withdrew his card when the name came up as "Eddie Howard," saying that that it is "my husband's."

In the final episode of the series, Fred turns up at Emily's house without his dress on, and informs her that his wife has had enough of his act, and that he is leaving. Emily (at one point using Eddie's voice) manages to get him back by persuading him to try on an antique frock she bought him.

Outside of the series

The two did not appear in the Christmas special "Little Britain Abroad".

Emily did, however, show up in Little Britain USA, this time solo. It is revealed in her first sketch that she is using anonymity as a means of being acknowledged as a woman. In her first sketch, she has tricked an art class to use her as a model. Unfortunately, it emerges that it is a Life Drawing class, which forces Eddie Howard to reveal his true gender. In the next sketch, Emily turns up at a concert featuring Sting. She fights her way to the front in order to be chosen by Sting to sing a duet with him. After the duet, she kisses him and leaves the stage, celebrating in his male voice.

In the next sketch, Emily is arrested after attempting to steal a dress (though she claims that she "was trying it on for size and forgot to take it off and walked out of the store, silly me!"). She flamboyantly has her mugshot taken by a policeman and, while having her details taken down, attempts to have her female details taken down. However, due to the seriousness of the situation, Eddie Howard is forced to admit, to his frustration, that he is a male. It is also revealed that he is married with three children (a subsequent phone conversation reveals that one is called "Tommy"). After managing to get through only to his young son, we see him cursing silently. In the final Sketch, Emily blind dates a man, who is suitably uncomfortable after discovering that his date is, in fact, a man in disguise. At the end of the date, the man accidentally drives off with her wig.

Emily and Florence re-appeared in the Little Britain Nationwide advert, in which they attempt to have an account opened in Florence's name, claiming that she's just turned eighteen. When they accept and are asked for details, Florence gives her name as "Fred Brown," inadvertently revealing her true gender, to Emily's irritation. We then see them riding down the street on a tandem, with Emily shouting, in a male voice "You ruined it!"