| Kate | |
|---|---|
| |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Formerly Lord Edmund Blackadder's Servant |
| First appearance | Bells |
| Last appearance | Bells |
| Episode count | 1 Episode |
| Played by | Gabrielle Glaister |
Kate, also known as Bob, is a woman who has to get work to sustain her father, in turn becoming Lord Blackadder's servant.
Personality
Kate is a somewhat naive young woman who insists on believing her mother is dead, despite her father's insistence that she ran off with his brother Henry. Kate's aging father informs her that due to his imminent dotage he must look to his daughter to sustain him, and suggests that the best way is for her to become a prostitute.
| “ | Oh, please go on the game; it's a steady job, and you'd be working from home! | ” |
Unconvinced, she decides to disguise herself as a boy, and seek her fortune in London, which her father attempts to point out the futility of.
| “ | Why walk all the way to London when you can make a fortune lying on your back!? | ” |
Upon arrival in London, she is hired by Lord Blackadder while his manservant, Baldrick, is casually kicked out onto the streets. However, when Blackadder points out that "Kate" is a girl's name, she quickly claims it is short for "Bob". Blackadder becomes increasingly concerned about the attraction he feels for the boy. Eventually, after being prescribed a course of leeches by a doctor and an attempt to throw Bob out, he learns the truth (after Kate opens her bodice in front of him), and several minutes later they become engaged.
The wedding is due to be officiated by Lord Melchett, with Baldrick acting as bridesmaid (Kate didn't have any girl-chums, as her family was too poor to afford friends). Blackadder, mistaking him for a beggar, pays Kate's father £10 to go away, much to her dismay. Blackadder's promise to have Baldrick beat him up and retrieve the money does little to comfort her. Unfortunately Blackadder asks Lord Flashheart to be the best man. Shortly afterwards, Flash and Kate decide to run off together (although, as Kate has discovered she prefers wearing boys' clothes, and Flash feels more comfy in a dress, they swap outfits first), leaving Blackadder jilted at the altar.
Notes
Bob is reminiscent of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, in which the lead character, Viola, is forced to disguise herself as a man after a shipwreck. She, however, is hired by a Duke with whom she falls in love. The Shakespearean connection is further exploited by Lord Blackadder saying "kiss me, Kate" upon discovering Bob is in reality a woman called Kate - this being a line from the play The Taming of the Shrew, as well as the name of a musical adaptation of the play.
Kate possibly had a cameo in Ben Elton's other comedy set in this era 'Upstart Crow'. In this role she still was a woman dressed as a man in order to maintain a job as a court judge.
Earlier, in 1977, the BBC Radio 4 series The Burkiss Way, written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, had parodied Frank Richards' stories of Greyfriars School in an episode entitled "Skive from School the Burkiss Way"; one of the jokes in this episode being that a boy named Bob is actually a girl and nobody has quite realised it.