Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the American comedy television series The Office, portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the seventh season, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch. She is an original character, and has no counterpart in the original British version of the series.
Initially a one-episode guest star, she was reportedly the top choice to replace Steve Carell, but was unable to join the series, due to her commitment to the West End production of the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. However, Tate later returned to the role as a series regular for the second half of season eight and continued in the role for the final season.
Biography Nellie Bertram is portrayed as a crass and outspoken woman of English nationality. She has a strong dislike for Irish people. She was born in the "working-class town" of Basildon, and, until the age of 32, spoke in a "horrendous" Essex accent.
She is an old friend of Jo Bennett's, and believes that it is possible that she is Jo's best friend, while stating that Jo, however, is not her best friend. It is highly probable that their friendship is the only reason why Jo recommended her for the Regional Manager job, as Nellie is shown to make considerably poor decisions in her professional life, such as rejecting Cathy Simms' idea of the Sabre retail stores having a beach, winter, and jungle theme, simply because she did not like the winter theme concept, and refusing to change that one theme in order for Cathy's idea to appeal to her. However, she is shown to be aware of her legion of shortcomings, telling the camera crew, in the episode "Get the Girl", "I grew up poor. I have had little formal education, and no real skills. I don't work especially hard. Most of my ideas are either unoriginal, or total crap".
Her stated philosophy in business is "if the seat is open, the job is open", a motto which had led her to briefly race a Formula One car (for what were the three slowest laps ever recorded).
Long before her move to Scranton, Nellie was in a long-term relationship with a stage magician named Henry, only to have him suddenly leave her for a waitress and vanish from her life, resulting in a loathing for anyone of that profession.
Nellie first appeared in the seventh-season finale, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, the position that Michael Scott held for the majority of the series. She returns in the episode "Tallahassee", as Sabre's president of special projects. She reveals that she reacted to being rejected for the Manager job by going on a destructive shopping spree (she mentions that she purchased 13 pianos). But, she soon came up with the concept of the Sabre company opening up a chain of retail stores, an idea that Jo was ecstatic about and hired Bertram to start the project.
Nellie had long-harbored a desire to adopt a child, and after being initially rejected by an adoption agency during season eight, finally gets her wish in the series finale.
Seasons 7–8 Nellie made her debut in "Search Committee", interviewing for the Regional Manager position at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, but proves herself to be woefully inept for the job. However, in a talking-head interview, she expresses confidence that she will be chosen for it, due to her friendship and recommendation from Jo.
Bertram reappears in the eighth season episode, "Tallahassee" as the President of Sabre's special projects. In the episode, Dwight Schrute, Jim Halpert, Erin Hannon, Stanley Hudson, Ryan Howard, and Cathy, as well many employees at Sabre headquarters, attend her orientation meeting, where she explains how she obtained her occupation as President of special projects, recalling how she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, but was not hired, because the search committee decided, as she pointedly reminds Jim, that she and the job were not "A good fit". However, she later thought of the concept of the Sabre company opening up a chain of retail stores, and called Jo to inform her of the idea. Jo was ecstatic about it, and hired Nellie to oversee it. Throughout the episode, Dwight and Todd Packer compete to see who will become Nellie's vice president. While she is initially impressed with Packer, and the two are even seen flirting with one another, she is soon impressed with Dwight, as well, who, despite being rushed into surgery, after developing an appendicitis, returns three hours after his appendix is removed in order to impress her. After nearly butchering a slide-show presentation, he finally impresses Nellie by telling the audience that the only element of marketing that matters is "Desire". Bertram subsequently invites Packer and Dwight to have breakfast with her the following day.
In "After Hours", Dwight and Packer compete to seduce Nellie after work at the hotel bar, in order to become VP under her. For most of the night, Packer seems to be the more successful; but Dwight has Gabe spike Packer's beer with his asthma inhaler, which causes Packer to vomit, and leaves Dwight alone with Nellie. Dwight eventually succeeds in seducing her, and she asks for a key to his room. Dwight scratches off the magnetic strip on his hotel card before giving it to Nellie, stating the seduction was only to gain approval and doesn't intend to have sex with her. She later shows up at his door, drunk, and unsuccessfully attempts to enter.
In "Test the Store", at the Sabre store opening, Dwight attempts to put on a theatrical presentation in order to impress Nellie. Several things go awry; and after Ryan departs, Jim is forced to give the presentation, which, despite a rocky start, impresses the crowd. After the opening, Nellie names Dwight as vice president.
In "Last Day in Florida", she accompanies Dwight, Jim, and Robert California on a golf outing celebrating Dwight's new vice president position. While Robert seems to take a liking to her, he reveals to Jim that he dislikes the business plan for the Sabre store, and that he only approved it because Jo Bennett wanted it. He says that it is now evident that the store is a failure, so he plans to sandbag it at a high-level meeting. However, for this failure he plans to terminate Dwight, the vice president of the project, instead of Nellie (presumably because of her friendship with Jo). Later, when Jim is keeping Dwight from attending the meeting, in hopes of keeping Dwight from getting fired, Packer convinces Nellie to appoint him vice president in Dwight's absence, which she does. During the meeting, Robert chastises Packer, pretending that the Sabre store was a brilliant concept, but that Packer simply botched it in execution. Nellie then steps up, apparently defending Packer, as she tells the board not to blame Packer, but then states to simply blame his upbringing, and the society that "molded this idiotic creature". She says that, while they should fire Packer as an employee, they should not fire him as a man. An infuriated Packer protests this, stating that it is actually Nellie's fault for her poor business plan. Yet, Robert still terminates him instead of Nellie, and it is implied that Robert was impressed at how Nellie manipulated the situation. It also hinted at that Nellie might be interested in Robert romantically, as before, at the golf course, she pretends to play poorly in order for Robert to come around behind her and demonstrate on how she could better swing her golf club.
In "Get the Girl", Nellie travels to the Scranton branch and tries to claim the manager position, while Andy is out of the office. She uses her motto of "if the seat is open, the job is open", to coax Robert into letting her stay. She attempts to win over the rest of the office, save for Jim, Pam and Darryl, by giving them raises.
In "Welcome Party", Jim and Dwight reluctantly help Nellie move into her new apartment. She tells them about a bad breakup she went through with her longtime boyfriend, Henry.
In "Fundraiser", Nellie attempts to befriend Darryl, and they appear to bond a little bit when he buys them some tacos, a food which she has never heard of or tried before; and, after watching her struggle with the mechanics of consuming one, realizes that she truly is trying to be nice to and socialize with her employees.
In "Turf War", it is revealed that Nellie is a shopaholic and is in severe credit card debt, and also that her efforts to adopt a child were turned down because she is single. After Pam discovers this, she decides to be nicer to Nellie, and she strikes up a friendly conversation with her. Nellie reveals to the camera crew that she is deeply moved to have a real friend at the office.
During the eighth-season finale, Andy recruits David Wallace, to help him take back Dunder Mifflin. Andy, after being re-appointed manager, fires Nellie as revenge for stealing his job. After she pleads to him, he rehires her as Special Projects Manager.
Season 9 At the start of season 9, Andy returns from management training intending to fire Nellie for what she did to him the previous year. After he is informed by Toby Flenderson that Nellie cannot be fired without cause, Andy vows to make life miserable for her, while also putting his newly Michael Scott-esque dislike of Toby on display.
In "Roy's Wedding" Nellie initiates a charity program within the office, which Dwight ridicules, believing charities are useless. When Nellie insists he choose a charity, Dwight mocks her initiative further by deliberately choosing a front organization for the Taliban. To test Dwight's resolve, Nellie has him sign a pledge to live by Taliban law in the office, and then steals his pen, noting that the penalty for theft would require him to cut off her hand, even offering him a knife with which to do so. Though clearly unsettled at this idea, Dwight maintains his bravado for several hours, until Darryl walks in and suggests the two of them watch the movie 127 Hours. Eventually the two become engrossed in James Franco's performance and forget about the hand-cutting.
In "Andy's Ancestry", after being tasked by Andy to research his family tree, to spite him, Nellie falsely tells him that he is related to U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama. Not long afterwards, Pam agrees to help Nellie practice for a driving test, and the two end up bonding when she shows appreciation for Pam's art, which leads to Nellie later asking her to paint a mural in the warehouse.
In "Work Bus", Nellie moves forward with her plans for adoption and asks for Andy to give her a reference as her employer, something he says he will only consider if she tells the truth (as the truth about someone as awful as her will ruin any chances for Nellie to be matched with a child). Andy's girlfriend Erin Hannon, who herself was a foster child who was never adopted, helps Nellie with her application, clearly excited at the prospect of a child being adopted. Andy gives her a scathing non-endorsement, however, leaving her stunned and saddened but stoic. After seeing that this upset Erin even more than Nellie, Andy reconsiders and writes her a more favorable recommendation.