Carole Parkinson

Infobox character
colour = #99CCFF
name = Carole Parkinson


caption = Carole in "The Brittas Empire".
first = Series one, episode one: Laying the Foundations (1991)"
last = Series Seven, episode eight: Curse of the Tiger Women (1997)"
gender = Female
age = not known.
occupation = Receptionist
portrayer = Harriet Thorpe
creators = Richard Fergan & Andrew Norris

A fictional character in the BBC sitcom The Brittas Empire (that aired throughout the 1990s), the show is about Whitbury Leisure Centre, a sports complex managed by the disastrous Gordon Brittas, who whilst trying to do the right thing, brings chaos into the lives of those around him. Carole is Brittas's unfortunate and tearful receptionist.

She is a loving mother to her children, that she keeps in the draws and cupboards of reception, an area she also lives in. She is unfortunate in the sense nothing ever seems to go right for her, and despite having creative talents, her ambitions as a pianist and author never work out, nor does she ever lead a happy relationship with a man, and her husband (who appears once in series one) ran off to Spain with her best friend. Brittas tries to help Carole, however his advice-lacking-in-tact only ever upsets her. He is however, the unknowing father to her twin children, truth which is revealed in the final episode. [The Brittas Empire DVDs, where evidence in episodes can support what has been stated above. DVDs published by Eureka Video]

It is thought Carole finally finds happiness when moving away in series five with an Austrian man named Von Trapp, however he also has an affair; the excuse given to return Thorpe in her role as Carole to Whitbury Leisure Centre for an unexpected sixth series.

Carole is in all episodes and her methods of looking after her children provide comedy. [The Brittas Empire DVDs, where evidence in episodes can support what has been stated above. DVDs published by Eureka Video]

References