Bubbles DeVere

Denise or Mavis 'Bubbles' DeVere (According to the stage show tie-in programme guide) is a fictional character in the second and third series of the BBC television sketch show "Little Britain" plus The USA spin off'. She is played by Matt Lucas.

Bubbles DeVere is an extremely overweight, bald (although she wears a wig) woman who prefers being naked to wearing anything at all (even going so far as to go shopping in the nude) although she usually wears a small silver dress or a white dressing gown. For over a year, she has been a permanent resident at Hill Grange Health Spa (a reference to British children's programme "Grange Hill"). She talks in a Pseudo-French accent,although she is English.

Bubbles is very overweight, yet despite her bizarre appearance, she considers herself to be a "rather beautiful woman". Bubbles is completely oblivious to the reaction she receives to her nude appearance, which is usually one of shock and horror; however some men who are chubby chasers become attracted to her.

In keeping with the style of "Little Britain", Bubbles has many catchphrases, the most notable being perhaps "HELLO DARLING (pronounced "Dahling" usually)" with which she addresses many people, including Gita the spa therapist (played by Yuki Kushida); however she also repeats the phrases "CALL ME BUBBLES DARLING EVERYBODY DOES!", (though, ironically, the only people who call her Bubbles are herself, Roman DeVere (Desiree calls her "Baby") and Gita, who refers to her as "Miss Bubble") and she is also prone to shouting "CHAMPAGNE, CHAMPAGNE FOR EVERYONE!" whenever she is in a joyous mood. She is also a polite, kind and fun character who is not offensive to those around her - apart from when she strips (and Desiree DeVere, see below). She is, however, never hesitant to break rules and try and wriggle out of a situation.

Bubbles also mispronounces many words including marriage ("mariage") and dangerous ("dangereuse"), although this may be intentional or part of her pseudo French accent.

As well as her constant stripping and her high opinion of her looks, she is also known to be a spendthrift, (usually purchasing expensive items she cannot afford) believing that she is a beautiful woman who deserves only the finest clothes, and as a result, she owes her bank a lot of money (as seen in Little Britain Live).

The creators of "Little Britain" seem to have taken a political stance in a number of their characters, and the name of Bubbles De Vere seems to be a play on the names of the right-wing newspaper proprietor Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere and his first wife Bubbles. De Vere is also the name of a chain of conference venues and upmarket hotels in the UK, of the kind in which Bubbles is staying.

The second series

In her introductory scene in "Little Britain", Bubbles is harassed by the Hill Grange Spa manager, Mr. Hutton, about her unpaid bill, which amounts to more than £25,000. After unsuccessfully trying to lay the blame on her husband in Monte Carlo, she constantly strips to Mr. Hutton to try and get off with paying the bill.

Bubbles also went to the extreme length of lying in a sunbed for over three hours, to avoid discussing the payment situation with the Mr. Hutton. When she finally came out, burnt and smoking, she asked a shocked Mr. Hutton if she could be excused as she was "...a little bit on fire".

Bubbles believes that Mr. Hutton finds her attractive and that he will accept being seduced by her as compensation for her unpaid bill. When she finally arrives in Hutton's office with a cheque, she tears it up and removes not just her silver dress (which is the only clothing she likes wearing) but her wig as well, revealing herself to be bald and even more unattractive.

At the end of the second series, Bubbles turns up to one of Mr Hutton's board meetings naked, and it is made clear that Bubbles may not have anymore spa treatments, until her bill has been paid. She ends up sitting on the owner's lap demanding for "Champagne!" and then drops his pen, bending down to pick it up.

Mr. Hutton did not feature in the third series (2005), and so the situation was never properly resolved; it is unknown whether the bill was ever paid. It is possible, however, that it was resolved, as she is still living at the spa and hasn't been made to leave.

The third series

In the third series, Bubbles' ex-husband Roman DeVere (played by Rob Brydon) and his new-found wife Desiree (Walliams), a former Miss Botswana, are introduced. Desiree is an ex-international showjumper who is even larger than Bubbles, as well as referring to everyone including Bubbles as "baby" (pronounced "bebby" or "babby") as opposed to Bubbles' "Dahling." The couple arrives at the spa for their honeymoon, much to Bubbles' discomfort. Roman apparently has a fetish for obese women, and apparently, Roman had divorced Bubbles because she had lost a lot of weight.

Bubbles cannot stand to watch the man she still loves slip through her fingers, and she often tries to rekindle their relationship whenever Desiree is out of sight, to the extent that Desiree often finds them in compromising positions, becomes jealous and starts a fight with Bubbles. Roman gets very excited watching the two women he loves battle for his attention, as they are often in the nude. Despite this, she maintains that she would rather see the back of him, as well as Desiree.

Roman and Desiree leave the spa earlier than planned at the end of the third series leaving a heartbroken, acupuncture needle-covered Bubbles in tears, especially as Roman wouldn't give her a hug before he left (As she was covered in acupunture needles).

Bubbles' actual name

Mrs. DeVere's actual name is the subject of much debate. A bill in the second series gives her name as Mavis, but the programme guide for the stage show states that her name is Denise.

Little Britain Abroad

Bubbles reappeared in two sketches of the "Little Britain Abroad" Christmas special:
*In one, she seems to got over her pain since her husband left her, and visits Ronnie Corbett's holiday home in Monte Carlo, insisting he knows her and tries to get out of discussing why she's there, she eats a Ferrero Rocher very slowly and tries to take another. While his butler calls the police, she tries to seduce him. At that moment, his butler arrives, saying that the police will arrive in 5 minutes, to which he responds "could they make it ten?"
*In another, she tried to con a shop assistant at a ski resort in Switzerland into giving her a free designer dress by pretending to be someone famous who is having a party thrown to her by Prince Charles (when this doesn't work, she makes a futile attempt to pretend she is friends with Jilly Cooper by pretending (unconvincingly) to answer a phone call from her). She then chooses a dress that is miles too small for her rather than one that would've fit her ("I'm not Kate Winslet, Dahling!"), which she tries on and her huge size rips it to pieces. (Note: At the start of this scene Bubbles is seen fully dressed for the first time ever).

Little Britain USA

Bubbles appears in the American version of Little Britain in which she is taking a cruise on an American liner to Rio de Janeiro and gambling away everything she owns (including her clothes and her wig).

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/littlebritain/characters/bubbles.shtml BBC "Little Britain" site - Bubbles Devere]