23-469: Tameka Lydia Empson (born 15 April 1977) is an English actress and comedian. She appeared as one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non-Blondes . In 2009, she began portraying the role of Kim Fox in the BBC soap opera EastEnders . As well as her television work, Empson has appeared in a number of films. In 1996, she appeared in the film Beautiful Thing as Leah Russell,
46-454: A Nigerian driving instructor who teaches the people who took his lessons how to drive a vehicle in a very hazardous, inappropriate manner. Ignatius is ignorant of the car's controls (e.g. he calls the gear-stick the "pully-puller"). Ignatius allows his 10-year-old son Toby to get behind the wheel, in an effort to teach him the family trade. He admits that he lives in the UK illegally. Cash Helper –
69-538: A black maid. When confronted with anything she doesn't like, her fall-back phrase is "Aa'm waat!" ("I'm white") Hortense – a woman in her early to mid-fifties who asks people with babies to allow her to take a look at them, thinking them to be beautiful. However, on two of the three times she appears (all in S1 E6) she finds the baby ugly so says "What a lovely...pram" or "What a lovely...rattle". In her third and final appearance, she says: "Oh! What an ugly baby! Jesus!" At
92-538: A dog to "take her sheep off her bus", accusing her of making the bus look as if it is Noah's Ark . She refuses to allow a lady with a pram to board her bus, branding it as a spaceship, and closes the door on a man who asks if the bus stops at a certain place. She refuses a passenger permission to talk to her when he asks a question. In one scene she has a mat for her passengers to wipe their feet on that says "I Can See Your Knickers". She criticises two men for not thanking her by calling them homosexuals. One of her catchphrases
115-446: A girl who works at a supermarket checkout or sometimes on a sweet stall. She attempts to add the prices of the items in her head, causing great inconvenience to customers. Her catchphrase is "If you don't use it, you'll lose it..." The first series was nominated for a BAFTA for "Best Comedy Programme" in 2007. Esien was also praised for being the first black woman in either the UK or USA to be given her own sketch show. However, after
138-656: A mainstay of the Hackney Empire annual pantomimes. In 2008, Empson appeared in the BBC sitcom Beautiful People and in the ITV1 thriller Whitechapel . In 2009, she joined the cast of EastEnders , playing Kim Fox , the half-sister of Denise Fox ( Diane Parish ). As a result, she has won several awards including an Inside Soap award in 2012 for "Funniest Female Performance". She took maternity leave from EastEnders and returned to screens August 2014. On 16 July 2019, it
161-879: A panellist on The Apprentice: You're Fired , and voiced the role of Pearl the Police Horse on the Disney Channel series 101 Dalmatian Street . 3 Non-Blondes 3 Non-Blondes is a British hidden camera comedy show (and the group name given to the three comedians who star in it), distributed by the British Broadcasting Corporation on the BBC Three digital network channel, first aired in 2003. It also airs on BBC America and Comedy Channel in Australia. Ninia Benjamin , Tameka Empson and Jocelyn Jee Esien play
184-433: A range of comical characters to the unsuspecting public, varying from a fictional celebrity named Marcia Brown to a charity worker who only wants a kiss or a hug instead of a cash donation. Two series of the comedy have been broadcast. Both were released as a DVD box set on 22 November 2004, distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment . In an interview concerning her own sketch show, Little Miss Jocelyn , Jocelyn hinted
207-469: A reference to the character Jiffy from the show Little Miss Jocelyn . The first episode aired on BBC Three in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2006. The show was also available in the UK via Internet streaming one week before transmission. On 21 March 2007 the BBC announced that a second series of six episodes had been commissioned and that the show would be moved to BBC Two . The second series
230-494: A savage and the girlfriend of Prince William whom he met on his mission in the Third World . Liz accompanies William on visits to charities, telling jokes that offend people but are funny to the fictional Prince William. Gladys Kingston – an old Jamaican woman who is going through a divorce and hates men or anyone of the male gender , whether young or old. In one episode, she scolds her nephew Josh, saying that her niece
253-508: A third series would probably not be filmed, as the cast had become too well known. The public would either identify them or play along with the sketches, much to the stars' embarrassment. In 2003, they were listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest British comedy acts. In 2007, Trouble TV picked up the series and showed it on Mondays at 9 pm until the channel got axed. In 2010, Jocelyn Jee Esien starred in her own spin-off to
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#1732801069348276-453: Is "You're lucky I'm a Christian!" Paulette – a spoilt middle-aged woman who screams and cries when she doesn't get her own way. Fiona – a middle-aged woman who works in an office and tries to conceal the obvious fact that she is black . Madame President – the first black female president of the US. She speaks slang instead of regular English. Mrs Omwokwopopo – a Nigerian woman who
299-416: Is "umm-hmm" (used repetitively), and "...or dream of this!", said while doing outrageous things, such as ripping open someone's shirt. She usually ends the session with: "save yourself, save yourself, save your se-e-elf!" Sheson – a Nigerian-Cockney bus driver who regularly sings " In The Name of Jesus ". She criticises her passengers on a regular basis. Several scenes include telling a female passenger with
322-408: Is constantly in marriage counselling with her several husbands, and who often tries to make a move on the counsellor, or insult them, calling them a " pimp " or " prostitute ". Helen – a woman who is often seen in important places, such as at a wedding or an interview, where she rubs her buttocks along the floor. When the surrounding people look confused, she states, "I've got worms ." Liz –
345-463: Is her favorite. She is also a teacher in a primary school. She tells a boy to stand at the corner on one foot, and a girl that her father will run away and impregnate a postwoman . She also wishes her husband was dead. She also has a habit of launching into monologues about life in Jamaica. Prim – a white South African woman, originally from Johannesburg who wanders around Brixton trying to find
368-664: The Magic Mirror and has a live sketch and comedy show ( The Kat and Tameka Show ) with Choice FM DJ Kat B. She has also voiced Tickbird in Tinga Tinga Tales . On 22 August 2016, Empson was revealed as a contestant participating on the fourteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing . She was partnered with professional dancer Gorka Márquez . They were the second couple to leave the competition. In 2019, she appeared on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice to raise money for Comic Relief . Later that year, she appeared as
391-428: The end of her section she usually says "You take care now you hear, and God bless!" Sharonisha – a teenage schoolgirl who is seen with her friends on a bus, sometimes driven by Sheson. She is seen talking to or about other passengers and asking them questions. Sharonisha usually makes a big speech about how something her friend said doesn't make sense. She often calls other passengers "pefodiles". Ignatius –
414-565: The next-door neighbour of the main characters. Empson worked alongside Linda Henry , both of whom would eventually join the cast of EastEnders ; in 1998 she appeared as the love rival to the main character in the film Babymother . Empson is an experienced theatre actress having performed as Billie in the original cast of Our House , a musical featuring songs from the ska /pop band Madness , which premiered at The Cambridge Theatre in October 2002 and ran on until August 2003. She has since been
437-531: The public become part of a sketch. The series ran for two series from 22 August 2006 until its cancellation on 14 February 2008; 12 episodes aired, while a 13th episode was never broadcast for unknown reasons but is featured as a bonus extra on the Series 2 DVD. In 2007, Esien featured in Girls Aloud and Sugababes ' Comic Relief video for " Walk This Way ", where she puts a parking ticket on Ewen Macintosh,
460-446: The screen of a cash machine. She gives lengthy speeches about her services as a traffic warden, insisting that she works for " Her Majesty De Quayn ". She pronounces her words incorrectly, for example, she pronounces "vehicle" as "Ve-hickle" and "illegally" as "illegal-lully". She usually ends with: "this may take a loo-oo-oong time." Florence – an overweight dietitian who uses Juju to help people lose weight. One of her catchphrases
483-433: The show called One Non-Blonde: Down Under , which began to air on 21 September. In it she takes three of her characters on a tour of New Zealand . In 2023, the series was re-aired on BBC Two . Little Miss Jocelyn Little Miss Jocelyn is a British TV sketch comedy written by and starring Jocelyn Jee Esien . The show is made up of studio sketches and hidden camera footage in which unsuspecting members of
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#1732801069348506-490: Was announced that Empson would be temporarily leaving the series, with her return set to air in 2020. Empson confirmed on Loose Women that the break was her maternity leave for her second child, and that she did not deliberately keep it a secret, but that she "just wanted to enjoy it". Empson is a regular performer at the Hackney Empire starring in the theatre's annual pantomime since 2004; she has also starred in Anansi and
529-410: Was filmed in the summer of 2007 and began airing on 10 January 2008 on BBC Two. On 11 June 2009, BBC confirmed that they would be axing the show from their schedules. Jiffy – a dysfunctional Nigerian traffic warden who gives people tickets for things like sleeping in the car or breaking down. She often appears in strange places, such as the back seat, glove compartment or boot of a car, a coffin or
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