This article contains a list of the numerous characters featured in various media by the British comedy troupe known as The League of Gentlemen. All of the characters were created by the troupe, who are Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.
Appearances Character Seasons 1 2 3 Anniversary Specials Recurring characters Ally Welles colspan="2" Barbara Dixon colspan="3" Benjamin Denton colspan="2" Bernice Woodall colspan="2" Brian Morgan colspan="2" colspan="2" Charlie Hull colspan="3" Edward Tattsyrup colspan="2" Ernest Foot Geoff Tipps colspan="4" Harvey Denton colspan="2" Henry Portrait colspan="2" Hilary Briss colspan="2" colspan="2" Iris Krell colspan="2" colspan="2" Jed Tinsel colspan="3" Judee Levinson colspan="2" Les McQueen colspan="2" colspan="2" Maurice Evans colspan="2" colspan="2" Matthew Chinnery colspan="2" Mickey M. Michaels colspan="4" Mike Harris colspan="4" Pauline Campbell-Jones colspan="3" Ross Gaines colspan="3" Sam Chignell colspan="2" colspan="2" Stella Hull colspan="2" colspan="2" Tubbs Tattsyrup colspan="2" Val Denton colspan="2" Al Dave Parkes colspan="4" Lance Longthorne Ollie Plimsols colspan="4" Phil Proctor colspan="4" Pop Herr Lipp Mike King colspan="2" Murray Mint Pamela Doove colspan="2" Papa Lazarou colspan="2" Reenie Calver Vinnie Wythenshawe Alvin Steele
Local shop Dentons Job centre Plastics Butchers Hulls Charity shop Creme Brulée Foots Debt collectors Legz Akimbo Misc. Misc. Misc. Misc. Misc. Misc. Shearsmith Edward Benjamin Ross Geoff Samuel Stella Vinnie Patch Peter Lisgoe Ollie Bernice Papa Lazarou Judee Pamela Henry Portrait Mike King Pemberton Tubbs Harvey Pauline Mike Maurice Charlie Reenie Bob Ernest Barry Dave Herr Lipp Barbara Pop Farmer Jed Ally Welles Mechanic Gatiss David Val Mickey Brian Hilary Tony Customer Les McQueen Sheila Glen Phil Mr. Chinnery Mama Lazarou Iris Lance Alvin Steele Mick McNamara
Edward and Tubbs Edward and Tulip "Tubbs" Tattsyrup, played by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton respectively, are a married sibling couple who are the proprietors of Royston Vasey's local shop (which they inherited from their mother and has apparently been in the Tattsyrup family for generations), located on the top of a hill some distance away from the town. Both have distinctly pig noses (in live shows, the actors simply hold their noses up with tape). Despite being complete outsiders to most of the other action in the show, they have become, arguably, the most popular and identifiable characters.
Edward, who claims to have served in the armed forces and had been in "a war" (presumably Oman or the Falklands), has a distrust of outsiders and is likely to emerge from the back of the shop saying "Hello, hello? What's going on? What's all this shouting? We'll have no trouble here!" (regardless of whether or not any shouting is actually going on) and challenge people with the question, "Are you local?", dismissing those who reply "no" with, "This is a local shop, for local people; there's nothing for you here" – one of the show's best-known catchphrases.
Tubbs (real name Tulip), though also scared of newcomers, dreams of visiting the "bright lights" of towns and cities (usually Swansea, but also places such as London and Plymouth), whose existence Edward has tried to keep from her ("There is a Swansea!"). She tends to ask "Are you local?" with both hope and fear mixed in her voice, but is afraid that visitors may take her "precious things" from the shelves of the shop (in particular, the snow globes on the counter). Tubbs has a childlike innocence which is only guided towards malevolent ends by Edward's influence.
Edward and Tubbs have a son, David, who was a mild-mannered civil engineer responsible for building a new road threatening to link Royston Vasey to the outside world; after they reunite at the end of Series 1, his parents keep him locked up in the attic, where he develops a bestial nature. During Series 2 they attempt to kidnap a wife for him; in the end the unwitting victim is Barbara (see below).
The couple are serial killers, responsible for a large number of murders in the area. Some of these occurred when trying to kidnap friends and a wife for David ("be careful, Tubbs...we don't want her to suffocate like the other three"); and with the intention of stopping the building of "New Road"; others seem to be simply for their gratification (for example, they kill a backpacker and subsequently the investigating police officer after Tubbs gives the game away - she yells out "We didn't burn him!").
At the start of Series 3, they are seen to have survived the fire set by the inhabitants of Royston Vasey at the end of Series 2. They are wrongly suspected of starting the nosebleed epidemic, which is ironic given the countless murders they actually are responsible for. They decide to follow "New Road" and contemplate beginning a new life with a new shop in London. Edward's glasses were broken in the fire leaving him unable to see properly, so Tubbs, using one of the snow globes as a map, leads them along a railway line, and it appears that they are both promptly killed by a speeding train.
In the final shot of Series 3 we see a brief glimpse of their grandchildren in Barbara's arms; they have the same pig noses as Edward and Tubbs.
The pair go on to appear in the live show as their ghosts, although this is set in a continuity outside of the main series, much like the film, where they appear briefly and accidentally kill Jeremy Dyson.
In the 2017 specials, the pair re-appear as squatters in a flat in Royston Vasey, having avoided the speeding train by inches and narrowly survived. Their flat (number 9, in homage to Shearsmith and Pemberton's other creation, Inside No. 9) is investigated by a local council worker and an investigative journalist, who they both promptly capture and keep as hostages. Tubbs becomes addicted to one of their smartphones and is amazed by its new technology, whilst Edward negotiates the hostages' release through negotiator Gareth Chapman (David Morrissey), after they find out that Royston Vasey is under threat of being erased due to the local boundary changes. Edward eventually talks by phone to the Prime Minister, who cancels the changes, leaving Tubbs and Edward to face the press. However, their fame is short-lived when Chapman discovers that both hostages have had their faces cut off by the Tattsyrups. The couple go on the run from the police and Tubbs hides in a photo booth, which leads to Papa Lazarou's wife mine, leaving Edward to wonder where she disappeared to.
The couple's piggy noses may have something to do with the family's bestiality towards pigs. meaning that the reason for their strange noses are genetic. This is implied in the second episode of the first series where Tubbs is shown breast-feeding a piglet. The noses, and Edward's appearance in particular, may also be indicative of congenital syphilis. Their ages are unknown with certainty; the Series 1 DVD biographies claim that Edward is 84 years old and Tubbs is 33 (which is almost impossible given they share the same mother and have an adult son). The audio commentaries note a time in the 16th century when Tubbs betrayed Edward and that the couple got married in the 14th century, making them both over 700 years old.
Barbara Dixon The trans woman Barbara Dixon (voiced by Pemberton) is the proprietor of the local taxi firm, Bab's Cabs, and likes to regale passengers with graphic descriptions of her upcoming operation. She has a deep voice and a necklace with her name on it nestling in among her chest hair. Her face is briefly seen in Series 1 episode 6. At the end of Series 1 her operation is botched by substitute surgeon Mr. Chinnery (see below), with the result that in Series 2 Barbara cannot tell what sex she is any more. To further confuse matters, Barbara is seen heavily pregnant in Series 3 (and gives birth to twins strongly resembling Tubbs and Edward). Barbara was briefly married to the Tattsyrups' son, David. Their marriage was short-lived as angry townsfolk set fire to the Local Shop on their wedding night, killing David in the blaze. Despite the fact that she was kidnapped for the marriage, she genuinely fell in love with David and was grief-stricken when he died. She re-appears in the 2017 specials, claiming she has moved with the times and being disparaging about anyone using masculine and feminine pronouns.
In the radio series, Barbara joins a dating agency, and gets romantically linked with Mr. Ingleby, who funds the last part of her operation.
The Dentons Harvey Denton (Pemberton) and his wife Val (Gatiss) are a bizarre couple whose gaudy 1970s-style house is run in an insanely ordered manner. For examples, they have two rolls of toilet paper labelled "1s" and "2s," and colour-coded towels for every purpose, from hands and spills to pubic hair. They have identical twin daughters, Chloe and Radclyffe (played by twins Megan de Wolf and Rosy de Wolf respectively). With their long white dresses and their habits of turning up unexpectedly and speaking in unison, they are obvious references to the two girls in The Shining. Harvey's dream in life is to have a self-lowering toilet seat. Val's wish is to have a son.
Into this formula, their completely normal nephew Benjamin (Shearsmith) is interjected. Harvey and Val tell him to make himself at home which is obviously impossible. Harvey is obsessed with male masturbation, forever accusing Benjamin of masturbating, using an array of amusing euphemisms.
Harvey is deeply fascinated by toads and has had the basement converted into a special chamber for keeping his huge collection. He is not so fond of frogs, refusing to allow the use of "The "F" word" in his home.
He also owns the toad known to the Mapapa tribe of the Shakiti Hills as "the devil's toad". "If one were to squeeze its little yellow belly, one's heart's desire would be granted." With him and his wife, Val, that turned out to be true. He wished for a self-lowering toilet seat, while Val asked for her nephew, Benjamin, to return. Both wishes come true. Benjamin also made the mistake of killing two of Harvey's favourite toads, Sonny and Cher (named after the musical duo), by frying one on an electric heater and stepping on the other.
The Dentons also have a "nude day," which they claim is the first Monday of every month. They cast aside all clothing and go about their daily duties—including going to the supermarket, the newsagents, and the post office, totally naked. When Benjamin walks in on them naked, they force him to strip off as well and answer the door naked. Benjamin surprises the caller and brings him back to the living room, where Harvey and Val are dressed, and Benjamin is humiliated.
As Series 1 progresses, it becomes clear that the pair, especially Val (whose greatest wish is to have a son), do not want Benjamin to leave. In the first series, they merely used diversionary tactics, such as telling him that all guests must babysit their daughters. However, in Series 2 their plans become more sinister: they lock Benjamin in his room, type up a letter made to look as if it was from Benjamin declaring that he wishes to stay with the Dentons, and construct a large chamber in the basement where they intend to keep him as a pet. Harvey even publishes a pamphlet entitled "My Plan to Keep Benjamin Locked Up as Some Kind of Pet, by Harvey Denton"; even Val is repulsed. Benjamin discovers this plan and turns the table on Harvey and Val, trapping them in the chamber and forcing them to confess before Chloe and Radclyffe chase him off with a shotgun. However, rather than free their parents, they lock them in.
Though they are never expressly killed off, this is the last time Harvey and Val appear and the final shot of the couple is Harvey mouthing "I can't breathe!"