Big Wednesday

Big Wednesday is the first episode of series 1.

Plot
Mandy gets a new boyfriend, Paul "The Rage" Johnson, a famous heavyweight boxer and rich fashion designer, who to Matthew's disgust is Northern. Matthew says that "he can have him", but is actually terrified in Rage's presence. As Rage gears up for a big fight, Matt must cope with the damage Rage and Mandy unwittingly inflict on his surfboard, Matt's most underused yet most prized and beloved possession.

Meanwhile, Martin is desperate for a girlfriend and meets an American girl called Nancy whilst out collecting Indian takeaway for Matt, and Martin is shocked when Nancy shows an interest in him and arranges a date. The date goes surprisingly well and they go back to hers, but Martin goes out to buy condoms and forgets where Nadine's flat is, before setting fire to himself with a cigarette. After mocking Martin a bit too much, Mandy gets her own back by revealing she has burnt Matt's surfboard using it as an ironing board. Mandy ends up breaking up with Rage due to worrying about him fighting, and everybody expecting her to be a page 3 girl.

Appearances

 * Martin Henson
 * Matthew Malone
 * Mandy Wilkins
 * Paul "The Rage" Johnson
 * Nancy

Notes & trivia

 * Big Wednesday was originally scheduled as the first episode on 27 February 1995, but two days beforehand the real-life the boxing match between Nigel Benn and Gerald McClellan ended with the latter in a coma. In response, the BBC brought forward Working Girls, which had originally been scheduled as the second episode on 6 March. Subsequent episodes were screened as shown below, and were presumably in the intended order, except that Big Wednesday was eventually shown fifth, after McClellan had emerged from the coma.