Miranda

Miranda is desperate to fit in, but her public school background makes her a bit of a misfit, especially compared to childhood rival Tilly (Sally Phillips) and the rest of 'the girls' (not least because she's a foot taller than them all). She can't seem to quite grasp how to behave socially and constantly fails to avoid embarrassing situations, especially around men, specifically Gary (Tom Ellis) her old friend from Uni. A constant disappointment to her mother Penny (Patricia Hodge), and lacking any real capacity or interest for business, Miranda employs her childhood friend Stevie (Sarah Hadland) to manage her joke shop, within which Miranda is at her happiest, playing with anything from Pirate Hats to fart machines. Despite blowing her whole inheritance on a joke shop and employing childhood friend Stevie to manage it, Miranda is desperate to fit in; a near-impossible task with her over-bearing mother, Penny's, constant attempts to marry her off. When long-term crush Gary Preston returns from his travels, Miranda bumps into him and, anxious not to make one of her usual conversational cock-ups, talks all about her Olympic gymnastic achievements and her two children, Orlando and Bloom. Surely everyone ends up lying to impress when they're nervous, don't they? After an impromptu "date" is planned, Miranda decides to "Trinny and Susannah" herself, and takes a trip to the new "bespoke" clothing store, Transformers, picking an outfit guaranteed to stop people calling her sir to her face. (official distributor synopsis)