Terri McIntyre

Described as less Sex and the City, more Sex in the Street, Terri McIntyre - Classy Bitch was a sitcom about a feisty Glasgow woman who works as a sales rep for a Glasgow based company called Tannissimo Tanning Products. She survives by blagging her way through the mistakes she makes in every situation and surviving on her wits - when she can remember to use them.

The creator and the actor playing the role of Terri McIntyre was 28 year-old Simon Carlyle who began his television career as a researcher for the BBC. "I was bored in an office one day and was fantasizing about dressing as a woman and how my colleagues would react if I arrived one day in drag. Then I thought, "How would it be if someone pretended to be a woman in as realistic a way as possible." I mean, not like Lily Savage or Danny La Rue but just like a normal woman and that made me think of Terri."

In 2001 a series of 15-minute episodes was commissioned and transmitted on BBC Scotland and BBC Choice. The series won an instant legion of fans and its success led to a second series of six 30-minute episodes which was screened on the channel, now renamed BBC Three, but the 'Classy Bitch' part of the title was dropped and Terri was now the owner of a tanning studio with a new wardrobe, a new hairdo, but the same old lust for life.

Terri has a chequered past which includes a spell as a dancer on a cruise liner. She is often to be found in the "Whippet Inn" at the pub's regular theme nights - including Wet and Wild West Night, Caribbean Night and Karaoke Night. The people in her life include her mum (Carole Anders) who tries to keep her on the straight and narrow, Arlene (Helen Devon) – who lives full time with Terri in her fashionable apartment where her duties include everything that Terri doesn't want to do (which is everything), Marius Bowman (Alan McPherson) Terri's friend and hairdresser, Greig (David Tennant) who lives alone having recently split from his long term fiancée Sonja due to the pressures of work and his reluctance to participate in oral sex, and Dillon (Kevin Guthrie) who is Terri's 11-year-old son.

Terri's life is a series of mishaps that are never her fault. She loves her nights out but always makes it into work the next day, albeit sometime in the afternoon, swearing by her traditional remedy of three Nurofen, a can of diet coke and a quick slug of Pepto.

Here is a woman with a lot of life experience - rough, smooth and just-a-bit-prickly; a woman with reasonable, attainable hopes and dreams. However, just when it matters most, Terri does what she thinks she should do rather than what she ought to do and invariably makes the wrong decision. No matter how many times the truth stares back at her from the mirror Terri doesn't accept that she'll never be a size 8, never wake up without a hangover and a stranger in her bed, and never marry a footballer. Terri is trying to find a man. She's holding out for Mr Right and as a result she's kissed a lot of frogs trying to find her prince.

For Simon Carlyle, Terri is the daring alter ego who does things he'd never attempt: "I think she is the hidden side of my personality.” He said at the time.  “She says what the hell she wants when she wants, and I think that's what I'd love to be able to do. Making Terri has taught me that actually, there's little difference between men and women. Apart from the obvious like making sure you keep your legs shut when you sit on a chair, there really isn't that much difference between the sexes. I do prepare for my role - I smoke heavily, endure sessions on sunbeds way beyond those declared safe and drink lots of Bacardi Breezers. I sometimes learn my lines but I prefer to wing it and see what comes out of my mouth on the day."

But how did Simon's own family react to Terri McIntyre? "My family are from the West of Scotland so it's not the easiest place to grow up if you want to be a performer. I was taught that to stand out was bad, so I have had to overcome a lot to get up and do what I'm doing. My Mum and Dad are just nice ordinary folks who can't work out how to explain to their friends at the coffee mornings why it is that a woman they saw on telly last night reminded them of my Mum."

Simon later went on to create and write the hit sitcom Two Doors Down, which began life as a one-off special in 2013 before being commissioned as a full series in 2016. He ultimately wrote more than 40 episodes and, later, co-wrote comedian Alan Carr’s autobiographical sitcom Changing Ends. His other screen credits included Boy Meets Girl, Psychobitches and No Holds Bard. Tragically, Simon died suddenly on 8 August 2023, aged 48. He had spoken openly in interviews about living with OCD and anxiety since his teenage years in Ayr, describing the intrusive thoughts and rigid daily routines he used to cope. His honesty helped to normalise discussions around mental health within the creative community.

Terri McIntyre proved a success that encouraged something of a cult following and it also launched its own website, the now defunct www.fanofthetan.com which included biographies for all the main characters in the series. As one fan put it: "This show is vastly underrated. It will, with more exposure, I am certain become huge amongst those seeking a refreshing dose of Bold as Brass with a touch of classy toilet humour thrown in. Terri's snappy one liners and dead pan delivery have yet to be matched."

Terri McIntyre may not have been Sarah Jessica Parker, but she was unapologetically her own woman, loud, flawed and gloriously confident.