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The Job Lot

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The Job Lot
GenreComedy
Created by
  • Claire Downes
  • Stuart Lane
  • Ian Jarvis
Directed byMartin Dennis (2013)
Luke Snellin (2014)
Sasha Ransome (2015)
Starring
Opening theme"Bring Me Sunshine" by Willie Nelson
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducersHannah Pescod, Jim Poyser
Production locationBirmingham[1]
Camera setupSingle-camera[2]
Running time30 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companyBig Talk Productions
Original release
NetworkITV (2013)
ITV2 (2014–2015)
Release29 April 2013 (2013-04-29) –
10 November 2015 (2015-11-10)

The Job Lot is a British sitcom. The series is set in a busy West Midlands Job Centre, and focuses on the relationships between the staff, and the job-seekers.

The series was commissioned following a successful pilot, written by Claire Downes, Stuart Lane and Ian Jarvis. It premiered on 29 April 2013 on ITV. It was later moved to ITV2 for its second series.

The show returned for a third and final series on ITV2 in October 2015.[3]

It was confirmed by Russell Tovey in December 2016 that the show would return for a fourth series although, as of 2024, this has not yet happened.

Cast

Character Portrayed by First appearance Duration Total episodes
Angela Bromford Jo Enright 29 April 2013 2013–2015 18
Trish Collingwood Sarah Hadland 29 April 2013 2013–2015 18
Karl Lyndhurst Russell Tovey 29 April 2013 2013–2015 18
Janette Hodgkins Angela Curran 29 April 2013 2013–2015 18
Paul Franks Martin Marquez 29 April 2013 2013–2015 18
Graham Pleck Tony Maudsley 29 April 2013 2013–2014 12
Bryony West Sophie McShera 29 April 2013 2013–2015 10
Danielle Fisher Tamla Kari 29 April 2013 2013 6
George Dhot Adeel Akhtar 6 May 2013 2013–2014 11
Natalie Mason Laura Aikman 24 September 2014 2014–2015 12
Ash Nick Mohammed[4] 13 October 2015 2015 5

Extras and Recurring cast

  • Malkit Bharj (Series 1–2)
  • Amelia Parillon (Series 1–2)
  • Mark Bagnall (Series 1)
  • Nigel Boyle (Series 1–2)
  • Dylan Edwards (Series 2)
  • Debbie J. Nash (Series 2–3)

Guest stars

Locations

Despite being set in Birmingham the series was filmed mainly in East London, The building used as the exterior and interior of the job centre is the former LEB building situated at 255-279 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green (The name Brownall House can still be seen on the exterior). The back of the building and roof are part of Three Mills Film Studios in Bow.

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

# Title Directed By Written By Original airdate
1"Under Pressure"Richard LaxtonClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis29 April 2013 (2013-04-29)
Manager Trish is struggling to keep things running smoothly. She has a world-of-work seminar to run, the temp is late, and difficult employee Angela returns, fresh from winning a tribunal. Karl is the only member of staff Trish can rely on, but now even he's reached the end of his tether.
2"Army"Martin DennisClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis6 May 2013 (2013-05-06)

Manager Trish invites an army sergeant to the job centre to hold an armed forces recruitment day, and the soldier soon finds himself the object of intense scrutiny. Elsewhere, benefit fraud investigator George goes undercover to catch a man who's signing on while working as a decorator.

First Appearance of: Adeel Akhtar as George.
3"Busy"Martin DennisClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis13 May 2013 (2013-05-13)
When a factory suddenly shuts down, Brownall is inundated with newly unemployed jobseekers, but Karl is in the worst possible state to cope with such a busy period. Manager Trish offers to lend a hand, but she doesn't have a clue how to sign people on and her struggles with the computer reveal a shocking secret. This episode features a cameo from series creator Stuart Lane.
4"Report"Martin DennisClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis20 May 2013 (2013-05-20)
Brownall is due to be inspected and Trish is on the lookout for the person who's going to file a report, while security guard Janette is determined to beat the Great Barr branch in the league table. Elsewhere, Karl and George team up to interrogate a pair of big-time benefit cheats
5"Decisions, Decisions"Martin DennisClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis3 June 2013 (2013-06-03)
Karl discovers his new girlfriend is signing on at the job centre, and knowing that this violates his employer's rules, he has a big decision to make. Meanwhile, Trish faces the task of conducting the staff appraisals, Danielle feels the pressure, and Angela is in an unusually good mood - but George suspects she's keeping something from him.
6"Birthday"Martin DennisClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis10 June 2013 (2013-06-10)

While celebrating her birthday, Trish receives a life-changing surprise, or so she thinks, and decides to promote Karl to the post of acting manager while she tries to get her head round what it means. However, he's soon out of his depth and the pressure mounts when a jobseeker stages a protest. Meanwhile, Danielle sits back and lets everyone else do the work, and Paul makes a bid to further his carpet-fitting business.

Final Appearance of: Tamla Kari as Danielle.

Series 2 (2014)

The Job Lot was renewed for a second series and was filmed in January and February 2014.[5] The series again consists of six episodes and began transmission on ITV2 from 24 September 2014 at 10pm. The new episodes were repeated on ITV each Friday night at 10:40pm.

# Title Directed By Written By Original airdate
1"Natalie"Luke SnellinClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis24 September 2014 (2014-09-24)

Following the party to celebrate Trish's divorce Karl is shocked to find himself waking up nude in her bed. On arriving at work he meets the new deputy manager Natalie Mason whom Trish rates but about whom Angela is typically cynical. However, thanks to Natalie the whole office gets to know about his one-night stand with Trish and, feeling embarrassed, he applies for a new job. Of course he fails but finds the means to get himself back with the job lot when he discovers Trish at it with his flat-mate Tom.

First Appearance of: Laura Aikman as Natalie Mason. Absent: Sophie McShera as Bryony.
2"First Impressions"Luke SnellinClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis1 October 2014 (2014-10-01)
Trish aims to impress business woman Jamina McNulty who is looking for a team leader to sell her hot tubs in China. Meanwhile Karl is annoyed when hunky phone engineer Andy flirts with Natalie so he tells Andy that she is his girl-friend. All the applicants are unsuccessful due to their inability to speak Mandarin though surprisingly Andy does speak the language and gets the job. However, Jamina's sexist treatment of him in the hot tub leads Trish to cancel the deal.
3"MP"Luke SnellinClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis8 October 2014 (2014-10-08)
Aware that the local MP backs job opportunities for young people Natalie invites him to an unemployment initiative day when each staff member mentors a young job-seeker. Sadly most of the clients are quite disinterested except Ann-Marie, who fancies Karl and compromises him into going on a date with her whilst Angela contrives an accident to get rid of the stroppy Bryony. George, the fraud investigator, gives a seminar explaining how he works but this leads to Karl accidentally Tasering Trish and when the MP arrives she looks so dishevelled that he mistakes her for a job seeker.
4"Back to Work"Luke SnellinClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis15 October 2014 (2014-10-15)
The staff are encouraged to get more people back in work and Natalie challenges Angela to hit the best target with the lazy Angela meeting her match as Trisha helps Natalie to win. Trisha also tries to set Natalie up on a date with Karl but he misses it, as he is on surveillance with George, wrongly staking out a genuinely disabled person. Next day Natalie throws herself at Karl whilst Tom, having rejected Trisha when he found she was older than she claimed, stages a demonstration to show he still loves her.
5"Heroes"Luke SnellinClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis22 October 2014 (2014-10-22)
Security guards Janette and Paul make unlikely heroes when Trish loses her mobile phone and Natalie gets into big trouble with a jobseeker.
6"Workshop"Luke SnellinClaire Downes, Stuart Lane & Ian Jarvis29 October 2014 (2014-10-29)

The staff attend a mandatory Saturday morning workshop on health and well-being with employees from the Kingstanding branch. In the exercises Karl is hoping to be paired with Natalie but ends up with irresponsible Tyler, who gets him high whilst Natalie is teamed with Trish's opposite number Denise, who is keen to poach her. Trish overhears Denise asking Natalie to be her deputy but gets locked in her office. Natalie accepts the offer because she is fond of Karl and the rules state that colleagues cannot date. However, Trish escapes in time to change the rules and keep Natalie and Karl together.

Final Appearances of: Adeel Akhtar as George and Tony Maudsley as Graham.

Series 3 (2015)

A third and final series was filmed in May and June 2015, and broadcast on ITV2 between 6 October and 10 November 2015 at 10:30pm (with the exception of the final episode which was broadcast at 10:00pm). The episodes were repeated on ITV on Monday nights (times varied). The series again consisted of six episodes.[6]

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pregnant"Sasha RansomeClaire Downes, Ian Jarvis & Stuart Lane6 October 2015 (2015-10-06)
There's confusion and babies all-round at Brownall Job Centre, as Karl thinks Natalie's pregnant; Trish thinks she's beginning the menopause; Bryony's taking care of her baby Uncle Martin; and Angela brings her beloved cat, Muff, to work to give birth.
2"Flatmate"Sasha Ransome[7]Claire Downes, Ian Jarvis, Stuart Lane & Rachael New[7]13 October 2015 (2015-10-13)

Trish's broodiness continues to cause havoc in the workplace. Meanwhile, Karl's flatmate leaves unexpectedly, leaving him on the search for a replacement. Janette suggests Natalie, but does she really want to move in?[7]

First Appearance of: Nick Mohammed as Ash.
3"Caravan"Sasha RansomeTom Parry[9]20 October 2015 (2015-10-20)
Trish is disconcerted to see a caravan parked in the job centre car park and is shocked to discover who is living in there. Kevin, an aspiring country and western singer comes into the job centre and is not happy when Karl stops his benefits - the fall out results in a roof top siege.[8]
4"Strike"Sasha RansomeClaire Downes, Ian Jarvis & Stuart Lane27 October 2015 (2015-10-27)
In her role as Fire Warden, Angela calls a fire drill and Natalie uses the opportunity to whisk Karl into Trish's office for a quickie. Karl calls a strike and the local press get wind of it.[10]
5"Tour"Sasha RansomeClaire Downes, Ian Jarvis & Stuart Lane3 November 2015 (2015-11-03)
Brownall tops the leader board for getting people off benefits at the monthly managers' meeting. Trish is more interested in Greg, a manager from the nearby Nechells Job Centre branch. Angela and Natalie go on tour attending a work conference in London with Angela giving a talk to fellow colleagues.[11]
6"Secret"Sasha RansomeClaire Downes, Ian Jarvis & Stuart Lane10 November 2015 (2015-11-10)
Trish is fresh back from a Spanish holiday to celebrate the job centre's twenty-fifth anniversary and brings back more than a stick of rock. Natalie seeks out the original manageress Maggie Higgins and asks her to join the staff for a celebration. Maggie remembers Angela from the 90s but Angela is keen to distance herself...is Angela hiding something?[12]

DVD releases

Name Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs
Series One — 17 June 2013[13] — 1

References

  1. ^ Laws, Roz (11 November 2012). "Birmingham is just the job for new TV sitcom". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  2. ^ Kanter, Jake (25 April 2012). "ITV planning 'big splash' as it returns to comedy". Broadcast Now. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  3. ^ "ITV Press Centre on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  4. ^ British Comedy Guide. "The Job Lot characters - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  5. ^ Susanna Lazarus and Tim Glanfield. "Vicious and The Job Lot given second series". RadioTimes. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Brand New Series 3 of #TheJobLot - Starts 10.30pm Tuesday 6 October!". www.twitter.com. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b c British Comedy Guide. "The Job Lot Series 3, Episode 2 - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  8. ^ British Comedy Guide. "The Job Lot Series 3, Episode 3 - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  9. ^ "The Job Lot Episode 3:3". www.comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  10. ^ British Comedy Guide. "The Job Lot Series 3, Episode 4 - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  11. ^ British Comedy Guide. "The Job Lot Series 3, Episode 5 - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  12. ^ British Comedy Guide. "The Job Lot Series 3, Episode 6 - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  13. ^ "The Job Lot [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk.
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