Madame Fanny La Fan

Madame Fanny La Fan is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!, which ran from 1982 to 1992. She was played by the actress Rose Hill.

Personality

An elderly woman, Fanny is also a misanthrope who often moans at anything or anyone with whom she comes into contact. Even her daughter Edith, who is one of the few people who makes an effort to be nice to her, can rarely meet her constant demands or appease her crankiness. She often uses a walking stick to bang on the floor of her bedroom so that the other characters below will hear and come to her assistance. More often than not, however, the reasons for the calls for help are nothing more than complaints about what was served for lunch.

Fanny and her son-in-law René share a mutual hatred of each other (the only time she is pleasant to Rene is when she learns of a large quantity of gold in his possession and then encourages Edith to marry him). Despite this, however, they are both constantly being caught up together in the plans of the French, English or German intelligence - René because of how "out of the way" his cafe is, and Fanny because since she is by and large bed-bound. While it is sometimes unclear whose side René is really on, Fanny is fiercely patriotic and extremely anti-German.

Running Gags Involving Fanny

Fanny is rarely seen not lying in her bed. The bed itself (especially its "flashing knobs"), her chamber pot and other boudoir-related objects are constantly used to conceal or disguise radio communication equipment or various unorthodox weapons to be used in the cause of the French Resistance. Many of the show's characters, including Monsieur Alfonse, Monsieur LeClerc, and even René, have hidden beneath her bedsheets to escape capture by German army officials or the Gestapo. Lt. Gruber once found a book under her pillow with the title Wheelchair Jujutsu which contained, among other things, 12 ways to disable a man with a crutch. On the few occasions when Fanny ventures out of her bedchamber, she is usually seen consuming liquor at the café's bar or attempting to entertain its patrons with a song.

Fanny is also known for her many dalliances with men in her youth, some of whom later became famous. She mentions in one episode that she used to have a relationship with Vincent van Gogh (she called him Bobby), from whom she received a painting as a present as well as a part of his body ("by registered post"). Despite her own randy past (she claims to have once been the most talked-about woman in Paris), she constantly pressures her daughter Edith to remarry once Edith's marriage to René becomes officially ended.

Many allusions are made to her long-held disdain of all things German, including her bad experiences with German soldiers during the first World War (she implied that she was raped by German soldiers) and her possession of a clock once belonging to Marie Antoinette that was stolen by one of her ancestors. In fact, when someone merely says the words "German," "Gestapo," or the like, she will spit in defiance, even if food is in her mouth, and generally always in the face of whoever happens to be standing nearby, even including German army officials and the Gestapo.