Vicky Pollard
Encyclopedia
Vicky Pollard is a fictional character from the British comedy TV series Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...

, which aired on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.

Vicky Pollard (portrayed by Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...

) is a stereotypical chav
Chav
A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...

. She is a teenage mother and juvenile delinquent and is known for her inarticulate and incredibly fast speech and incessant gossip. She hails from the fictional location of Darkley Noone, but it is known she is from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, often making references to suburbs of the city and surrounding areas (such as Bath and Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...

).

Personality

Vicky is an obnoxious, sullen and bone idle teenage girl who talks incomprehensibly fast in a strong West Country accent. She is a representation of teenage delinquents and chav
Chav
A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...

s.

When questioned about some aspect of her behaviour, or when accused of doing wrong (which, in her case, is often), Vicky will usually reply defensively with one of her several catchphrases, including:
  • "No but yeah but no but yeah but no but...",

  • "Oh my God! I SO can't believe you just said that!"
  • "Shut up! I ain't even done nuffin'
    Nothing
    Nothing is no thing, denoting the absence of something. Nothing is a pronoun associated with nothingness, is also an adjective, and an object as a concept in the Frege-Church ontology....

     or nuffin'!"
  • "Don't go giving me evils!"


Vicky will defend herself by trailing off on a long rant in which she relates gossip about people who have nothing to do with the predicament she is in, although, when questioned, she claims to be "getting there". Her incredibly fast speech and irrelevant gossip often annoy or confuse (or both) the person she is answering to.

Appearance

Vicky Pollard is often regarded as the ultimate television chav
Chav
A chav is a term that is used in the United Kingdom to describe a stereotype of teenagers and young adults from an underclass background.-Etymology:...

, although the character was created by Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...

 and David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...

 before the term came into common usage.

She is often seen wearing a pink Kappa tracksuit and leggings, with her hair scraped into a Croydon facelift
Croydon facelift
In English slang, a Croydon facelift is a particular hairstyle worn by young women. The hair is pulled back tight and tied in a bun or ponytail at the back. The supposed result is that the skin of the forehead and face are pulled up and back, producing the effects of a facelift...

, as well as wearing excessive amounts of cheap jewellery and big hoop-earrings. Despite her hideous appearance, Vicky often refers to herself as being "well fit" (meaning attractive in British slang). It is also well known that Vicky is a heavy smoker - being caught smoking in a swimming pool and on a bus, and on one episode of Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA, an American television series, originated as a spin-off of the British BBC's Little Britain show.As in the British series, Matt Lucas and David Walliams play the majority of the characters: originals such as Lou and Andy, Daffyd Thomas,Sebastian Love, Marjorie Dawes and Vicky...

 caught smoking in the showers by the coach at Boot Camp. Vicky also drinks heavily, but denied smoking and drinking whilst pregnant ("Apart from smoking two packs of fags a day and ten pints of Snakebites a night!").

Vicky's mother, Shelley (portrayed by Dawn French in one episode of Little Britain Abroad) is shown to be almost identical to her daughter in terms of dress. Her mother wears exactly the same outfit but with a purple Kappa jacket with her sister wearing blue. She is also known to have a grandmother or aunt who wears red.

Personal history

Vicky was born in 1989 in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

, or "Brizzle" as it is locally known. Most of her sketches are set in the fictional locality of Darkley Noone. In a series three episode she pronounced herself as "Well the Cotham J-Lo". The Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live
Little Britain Live is a stage show based on the TV sketch series Little Britain, performed by its stars, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and directed by Jeremy Sams. Supporting characters are played by Paul Putner and Samantha Power . As in the TV show, Tom Baker is the narrator, although his lines...

programme reveals that she left school at 11 with six ASBO
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
An Anti-Social Behaviour Order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. The orders, introduced in the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, were designed to correct minor incidents that...

s to her name. As of series three she has had at least 12 children, some of whom appear dressed identically to her. In series one she admitted to a social worker that she had exchanged one of her children for a Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...

 CD, which she revealed that she regretted when the social worker expressed concern, saying "I know, they're rubbish".

She also has a mother - Shelley Pollard (appearing in an episode of Little Britain Abroad and portrayed by Dawn French) - who is almost identical to Vicky in terms of dress sense and personality. She has a sister, Katie Pollard (played by Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...

, appearing on Little Britain Live) and an estranged father named Ken whom she re-met on an episode of ' 'Trisha' '.

The official series two tie-in script book featured a Jobseeker's Allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance is a United Kingdom benefit, colloquially known as the dole . It is a form of unemployment benefit paid by the government to people who are unemployed and seeking work. It is part of the social security benefits system and is intended to cover living expenses while the...

 benefit claim form partially filled in by Vicky, listing her previous occupations as a "retale sistant" (Retail Assistant), chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

 slaughterer
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...

 (at which she lasted less than two hours due to her burning down the "dead chicken factory") and erotic dancer at Spearmint Rhino
Spearmint Rhino
Spearmint Rhino is a chain of strip clubs that operates venues throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Central Europe, Russia and Australia. The club opened in 1989 as a supplement to the existing Peppermint Elephant Restaurant. This first Spearmint Rhino was located in Upland,...

, which lasted no longer than 24 seconds as she was regarded as "too much of a slag".

However, in Series Three Vicky does find employment as a phone-sex worker, and discovers that the person she is having a phone conversation with is actually her uncle. In this series she also finds work as a babysitter, which she does not succeed at as she uses the house for a large house party. The sketch ends with the parents arriving to find their home in a wreck.

Despite the fact that Vicky often seems to get into trouble at the end of her sketches, including appearances in court and arrests for shoplifting, she always seems to have avoided any serious penalties by her next appearance, although she did have a spell in borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...

, and Boot Camp when she appeared on Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA, an American television series, originated as a spin-off of the British BBC's Little Britain show.As in the British series, Matt Lucas and David Walliams play the majority of the characters: originals such as Lou and Andy, Daffyd Thomas,Sebastian Love, Marjorie Dawes and Vicky...

.

In Series Three, Vicky also claimed that she couldn't read or write because she was "like totally dexlixlec" (dyslexic).

Shelley Pollard

Shelley is Vicky's mother. Shelley has three known children Vicky, Katie and Ricky Pollard. She fell pregnant with a baby boy at 14 and named him Richard (Ricky). At age 16 she met a man named Ken and fell pregnant with his child Victoria (Vicky). It is unknown who the father of her third child Katie it is possible he is Ken but it still remains unknown.

Shelley turned up in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 when Vicky was in court for smuggling drugs.

Role in series

Vicky has appeared in all but one Little Britain episode to date (including the pilot and the Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...

 special). She did not appear in episode four of series three.

In Series One, Vicky has a counterpart played by David Walliams, called Jackie Hayes, whom Vicky encountered at borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...

 in an incident where she supposedly bit her. Jackie is strikingly similar to Vicky in terms of attitude, dress and speech, except she wears blue instead of pink. When the governess at Borstal questions both girls about the biting incident, they get into a heated argument trying simultaneously to explain their side of the story by relating gossip about completely unrelated events. The governess, fed up with the pair of them, tells both girls to "piss off".

Unlike the other characters, Vicky had a fairly uneventful role in the last episode of the third series. A sketch simply showed her going to a newsagent and trying to claim money with a fake lottery
Lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...

 ticket.

She appeared in the Christmas Special "Little Britain Abroad", in which she was imprisoned in a Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 prison for smuggling heroin. Dawn French guest-starred as Vicky's mother, Shelley Pollard, who shared her daughter's inarticulate speech patterns. Vicky was sentenced to 10 years in jail (her mother received 20 for wasting the Judge's time), which, for once, left her at a loss for words.

She also appears in Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA
Little Britain USA, an American television series, originated as a spin-off of the British BBC's Little Britain show.As in the British series, Matt Lucas and David Walliams play the majority of the characters: originals such as Lou and Andy, Daffyd Thomas,Sebastian Love, Marjorie Dawes and Vicky...

 where she is sent to boot camp after burning down Disney World. She interrupts the Coach during Roll Call to spread more gossip. The Coach, however, deals with Vicky somewhat differently than her British counterparts - she patiently waits for Vicky to finish before claiming not to have a clue what she has just said or telling her off. Vicky does very naughty things at the camp, such as smoking in the bathroom where she mentions someone drawing on the wall of a big fat woman with a penis and writing the Coach's name on it, then her hair catches fire, much to the shock of the coach. Next she attempted to escape, only to be caught on barbed wire and hangs upside-down. Her sentence is extended by six months, which she claims she doesn't care about until being informed her sentence ended the next day. In the last sketch Vicky ends up in hospital, having lost the power of speech due to falling off the chapel roof. In this sketch a computer talks for her and the coach is shown to be very caring of Vicky.

In 2010 Vicky Pollard returned when she was featured in a TV advert for Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society is a British building society, and is the largest in the world. It has its headquarters in Swindon, England, and maintains significant administration centres in Bournemouth and Northampton...

. David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...

 also appeared alongside Lucas in the commercial, playing Vicky's friend Rochelle. In the advert the two girls mistake the building society for a fast food joint, and when asked by a bank worker whether she would like to set up an account, she replies "Yeah... with ketchup on the side". Upon leaving the bank, a bemused Vicky comments "they don't even do chicken nuggets!"

Controversy

Some feel that the character of Vicky is an upper and middle class attack on the British poor and working class. A 2006 survey by YouGov suggested 70% of TV industry professionals believed that Vicky Pollard was an accurate reflection of white working class youth. The critics point out that the creators went to independent schools
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

 implying that they have no first hand experience of working class life.
Why is 'chav' still controversial?

Trivia

Vicky's full name is alternately given as Victoria Titania Pollard in the series two script book and Victoria Henrietta Pollard in the series three script book. The character was originally going to be called Vicky Collier, and the reason for the change has not been revealed, although a series one episode showed her encounter with a teacher called Mr. Collier, who reprimanded her for failure to hand in an essay on time. Mr. Collier was played by David Walliams.

Vicky Pollard is actually an incarnation of a 12-year-old schoolboy that Matt Lucas encountered at Broadmeads Shopping Centre in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 as part of a college documentary project in 1993. Lucas asked the boy “How are you?”, to which he replied “Yeah, alright, or summin' or nuffin'!”.

Lucas revealed on the South Bank Show that they had the idea for Vicky after seeing Berkshire teenagers Nikki Carpenter and Stacey Bennett in Brighton seafront on the front page of the listings magazine Time Out in 2001.

The mumbling diatribe tickled Lucas so much that he used it as a template to create the inarticulate Vicky Pollard.

External links

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