Cabin Pressure - Character Guide - British Comedy Guide

British Comedy Guide - Skip to main content

Martin

aka: Captain Martin Crieff Played by: Benedict Cumberbatch

Martin has wanted to be an airline pilot since he was six, and before that he wanted to be an aeroplane. And now, in his early thirties, he finally sort of is... although as Carolyn points out, MJN Air is not exactly an airline. You cannot put one aircraft in a line. If it's anything, it's an airdot.

But nonetheless, Martin is at last a professional pilot, and a captain to boot, which is one in the eye for all those people who told him he'd never make it: parents, teachers, prospective employers... examiners. No doubt other things like spatial awareness, natural authority, and ability to make decisions under pressure will come in time. For now, the main thing is the desperate struggle to stop passengers mistaking him for a steward, a baggage handler, or the work experience lad.

Douglas

aka: First Officer Douglas Richardson Played by: Roger Allam

Douglas Richardson is an effortlessly charming, authoritative, dark-brown voiced smooth old sky god. He's twenty years older than Martin, and spent most of those as a captain for the mighty Air England, before finding himself unexpectedly on the job market after a difference of opinion with Hong Kong customs about whether having seven silk kimonos stitched inside one's jackets indicated one was a smuggler... or simply a lovable eccentric.

Having to sit in the co-pilot's seat, fly drunken city boys to Biarritz, and then hoover the plane afterwards is not how Douglas imagined the last ten years of his career, but with a wife to support, and two different flavours of alimony to pay, he's not in a position to be choosy. And on the bright side, there's Martin to tease, and... well, there's Martin to tease.

Carolyn

aka: Carolyn Knapp-Shappey Played by: Stephanie Cole

Carolyn Knapp-Shappey is at last, at 64, free of her awful husband, pleasingly not free of his private jet, and ready to show the world what she's made of, by running the slickest, most successful, most profitable charter air firm ever seen. And were it not for her crew, plane, and passengers, she would do!

An ex-stewardess, and a woman of formidable energy, formidable competence, and formidable formidableness, she is continually frustrated by the incompetence or irresponsibility of the sort of pilots who are prepared to work for the money she's prepared to pay.

Arthur

aka: Arthur Shappey Played by: John Finnemore

Passenger service is provided by Carolyn's excitable son, Arthur Shappey. Arthur, like Martin, always wanted to a pilot, and, like Martin, was always told by everyone he'd never make it, and so, unlike Martin... he isn't one.

However, his Mum has let him be the steward, and his boundless enthusiasm for his new role is only matched by his boundless enthusiasm for pretty much everything else he ever sees or does. He's particularly delighted to be allowed to serve Martin and Douglas - in his unshakeable opinion the two greatest aviators to take to the skies since Wilbur and Orville.