australian television information archive

Look at moi and we did

CHANNEL 7 sitcom Kath & Kim has silenced critics who just three weeks ago predicted it faced doom in the ratings.

The sitcom on Sunday attracted 2.14 million viewers, blitzing 60 Minutes and Australian Idol.

And this week Kath & Kim is set to capitalise on the guest appearance of Matt Lucas, best known for his role on warped sketch comedy series Little Britain.

Bizarre as it sounds, Lucas plays Karen, the long-lost sister of Magda Szubanski's character Sharon Strezlecki.

Rick McKenna, executive producer and husband of Gina Riley (who plays Kim), said Riley and her co-star Jane Turner were delighted when Lucas signed up.

"The episode is a stunner and when the girls wrote it we wondered if Matt would agree to play it . . . the idea of Matt wearing a Sharon wig was irresistible," McKenna said.

"We had lined up a breakfast meeting with Matt in a London restaurant to discuss the role and there we were sitting and waiting for one of the biggest stars of British TV to join us.

"Then Matt walks in asking if he can have his photo taken with Gina and Jane and asking if they'll autograph the Kath & Kim DVDs he's brought with him. From then on, Gina, Jane and Matt were firm friends."

The foxy ladies from Fountain Lakes set a ratings record with the new season premiere of Kath & Kim on August 19.

The show reached 2.52 million viewers, making it the highest rating season opener since the 1991 introduction of the electronic people meter system.

Kath & Kim, poached by Channel 7 for $3.4 million after three top-rating seasons on the ABC, dropped to 1.7 million on September 2, leading some to speculate viewers were tiring of the show.

The past two episodes, however, have reached an impressive 2.04 million and 2.14 million viewers respectively.

"We didn't lose any sleep over it (predictions of doom) as people are entitled to their opinion, but I did scratch my head about some of the commentary," McKenna said.

"We were winning the timeslot every week, winning the night every week, three of the episodes are in the top 10 rating shows of 2007 and Kath & Kim is enjoying the best ratings for the show ever."

Channel 10, meanwhile, appears to have gained the upper hand in its bid to keep controversial reality show Big Brother.

Seven last week signalled it was keen to poach Big Brother from Ten, but Seven yesterday conceded it had pulled out of the race.

By Darren Devlyn
September 18, 2007
Herald Sun