The Hidden Gem of British Comedy: Bruiser
No one seems to recall Bruiser, a sketch show that aired in 2000. Even those who were part of the production are taken aback when asked about it, especially as its 25th anniversary approaches. “It’s one of those things that’s just disappeared,” reflects director Nick Jones. “I don’t know anyone who’s watched it. Do you know people who’ve watched it?”
Unfortunately, I do not. Despite my attempts to share its quirky, high-energy, and distinctly offbeat charm with fellow comedy enthusiasts, it remains largely undiscovered. Yet, all six episodes from its lone series are available on YouTube, and, in retrospect, it now appears to be a pivotal moment in British comedy, heralding a new wave of soon-to-be-prominent comedians, actors, and writers.
The cast of Bruiser is nothing short of remarkable: Oscar winner Olivia Colman, affectionately referred to as “Colly” at the time, joined her fellow Cambridge Footlights graduates Robert Webb and David Mitchell (who also contributed to the writing), alongside Matt Holness, who would soon earn a Perrier nomination for his cult character Garth Marenghi just months after Bruiser aired on BBC Two. The ensemble also included Martin Freeman, who was fresh off minor roles in The Bill, Casualty, and This Life, and then-Watchdog presenter Charlotte Hudson.
The sketches were crafted by a pre-Office Ricky Gervais and a pre-fame Richard Ayoade. Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, who would later create Peep Show, contributed as well, alongside Becky Martin, a young runner who has since directed episodes of Peep Show, Succession, and Veep. Not to be overlooked, writer Bathsheba ‘Bash’ Doran went on to work on Boardwalk Empire, Masters of Sex, and a series of acclaimed plays.
“David Mitchell already seemed like an obvious TV star,” notes producer David Tomlinson. However, the show slipped under the radar during its original run, airing after Newsnight at 11:20 PM on Monday nights, and it has remained largely forgotten since. Today, it serves as a curio, a time capsule that offers insight into the burst of originality and fresh talent that would later define British comedy. Yet, it deserves more than just to be an artifact of comedic history.
In a parallel universe, Bruiser could have evolved into another Fast Show or Little Britain, achieving massive success with arena tours and beloved characters that would spawn their own shows and even tie-in video games, leading fans to nostalgically quote Matthew Holness’s “pussy on a stick” catchphrase.
“It was on the cusp of something at the time,” reflects Tomlinson. Watch the show, and you’ll understand his sentiment. The sketches featuring Freeman and Colman as a bickering couple—him clad in a Spurs jersey, her permed to perfection and utterly exasperated—are beautifully crafted vignettes that draw from the nascent reality TV landscape in a way that earlier sketch shows had not. Webb’s character, obsessed with poisons, asking, “Do you do rat poison? What’s it made of? What does it do? Why do they die?” serves as a bridge between the dark humor of The League of Gentlemen and the more whimsical absurdity of Little Britain.
The origins of Bruiser trace back to Tomlinson and Jones’s earlier success with another sketch show, 1995’s Six Pairs of Pants, which featured emerging talents like Simon Pegg, Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Jessica Hynes for ITV. The duo aimed to recreate that formula of youthful talent paired with minimal production costs, seeking approval from producer Jon Plowman to do it for the BBC.
“We shot entirely on location,” says Tomlinson. “No studio settings, no audience, no laugh tracks. All of this was done on a shoestring budget. We proposed to uncover new talent while keeping the production costs low.” Their vision was to create something fresh, focusing on a cast of lesser-known performers—more akin to Marion and Geoff than to George and Mildred. They were placed in a small office in the BBC comedy department, tasked with scouting comedians and actors for this unconventional sketch ensemble.
They contacted The Mighty Boosh stars Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, but soon realized they had begun to carve out their own identity. Peter Kay was also considered, but he was already pursuing his own projects and was perhaps too prominent to fit into an ensemble that he hadn’t helped to create.
- David Mitchell and Robert Webb were the first to join the cast. Recommended by Benet Brandreth, son of Giles Brandreth, Tomlinson and Jones were impressed by their performances in Edinburgh and London.
- Despite Mitchell’s comedic prowess, it was Webb who stood out as a potential TV star, with Tomlinson likening him to a “blond Rowan Atkinson” due to his expressive features.
- During the pilot, which included Mackenzie Crook (from The Office) and James Lance (from Ted Lasso), the chemistry among the cast felt off. “The chemistry didn’t gel, despite all the individuals being great,” Tomlinson noted. Hence, Mitchell was brought back into the fold, and the ensemble began to click.
- Matt Holness, who had previously sought to collaborate with Mitchell during their time at Cambridge, was also added to the cast.
Tomlinson and Jones felt they needed experienced actors to complete the group. Tomlinson first encountered Olivia Colman at a showcase in 1998, where each actor presented two monologues—one comedic and one dramatic. Colman’s comedic performance garnered laughter, but it was her dramatic reading that left the audience spellbound. “There was this sort of mesmerized silence throughout the auditorium,” Tomlinson recalls. By the end of the evening, she had received numerous offers from agents before even reaching him.
Jones discovered Martin Freeman quite by chance while attending a production of Pierre de Marivaux’s The Dispute in 1999. “He didn’t really say anything or do anything,” Jones remembers, yet Freeman’s quirky expressions reminded him of a younger Lee Evans. “He was doing all this face-pulling and slightly odd, off-kilter acting. I thought, ‘You know what? That’s really funny.’”
Freeman and Colman brought a level of naturalism to their performances that impressed Tomlinson. “I didn’t have to instruct them; they just got it.” Their talent did not go unnoticed by Ricky Gervais.
Gervais contributed sketches featuring an immature pimp who couldn’t suppress giggles at the risqué requests of his clients, a spoof of James Bond with Mitchell portraying a hilariously inept Q, and Holness’s psychotic pedant who tormented his guests for trivial oversights, like confusing Frankenstein, the scientist, with the monster. The latter character bore striking similarities to David Brent.
“It was basically him [David Brent],” Jones remarks. Freeman, Holness, Colman, and Crook would all later join the cast of The Office the following year. Holness even adapted a character from Bruiser—a foul-mouthed IT guy—for The Office‘s second season.
By this time, Gervais was making waves with The Office. “Ricky mentioned he was working on this project and asked if he could show us a tape,” Tomlinson recalls. They were awed by the five-minute reel featuring Brent awkwardly interacting with a disinterested receptionist, prompting Gervais to inquire if they thought it was any good. “It was clearly something special.”
Despite the talent and the array of writers who would eventually achieve significant success, Bruiser never catapulted anyone into the limelight. The show’s reception at the BBC was lukewarm, with Jones noting, “The BBC didn’t want to pursue a second series.” Consequently, it faded into obscurity while its cast and crew went on to win Baftas, Emmys, and even Oscars, achieving global recognition.
Nevertheless, Tomlinson takes solace in the fact that Bruiser has garnered a cult following: “It would be delightful if people rediscovered it. It’s one of the few things I can look back on without cringing too much.”
