Toast of London

Toast of London
Created by	Arthur Mathews Matt Berry
Directed by	Michael Cumming
Starring	Matt Berry Robert Bathurst Doon Mackichan Harry Peacock
Opening theme	"Take My Hand" by Matt Berry
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	19
Production
Producer(s)	Kate Daughton
Running time	23 minutes
Production company(s)	Objective Productions
Release
Original network	Channel 4
Original release	20 October 2013 – present
External links
Website

Toast of London is a British comedy television series created by Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry and starring Berry as Steven Toast, an eccentric, middle-aged actor with a chequered past who spends more time dealing with his problems off stage than performing on it. Three series have currently been broadcast.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Matt Berry as Steven Toast, the central character of the series. A bumbling, self-important actor, an unsuccessful ladies' man and often the bearer of bad fortune. However, Toast considers himself a success despite his obviously failing career.
• Doon Mackichan as Jane Plough (which she pronounces /plʌf/), Toast's unhelpful agent. Prim and posh, she sees herself as superior to Toast, despite her failure to provide him with decent work. She was played by Fiona Mollison in the pilot.
• Robert Bathurst as Ed Howzer-Black, Toast's landlord and an idle retired actor. At times Ed often seems to be Toast's only friend, though he also shows himself to be somewhat of a pervert and has an unusual taste in women.^[1]
• Harry Peacock as Ray Purchase, Toast's fellow actor and rival, and a virulent homophobe. The two hate each other with a vengeance and are constantly in competition. While Purchase often seems to have the upper hand, Toast is still sometimes able to come out on top.
• Tim Downie as Danny Bear, a sound recordist and stereotypical hipster who regularly hires Toast for voiceover work in a London studio.
• Shazad Latif as Clem Fandango, another hipster who is doing work experience in the recording studio.
• Tracy-Ann Oberman as Mrs. Purchase, the wife of Ray Purchase and a prostitute who is having an affair with Toast. Despite being a prostitute, the only person she ever charges for sex is her husband.

Recurring cast

• Adrian Lukis as Colonel Blair Toast, Steven's eccentric older brother. An army veteran, he lost his hand in the Falklands War and now uses a stuffed rubber glove as a replacement.
• Amanda Donohoe as Ellen, Toast's abusive and volatile ex-wife. Despite her poor treatment of him, Toast continues to have feelings for her.
• Alan Ford as Alan, who is both a hypnotist and a homeopath. Ford also appeared as a taxi driver called "Mick Carriage"
• Peter Davison plays a fictional version of himself in several episodes.
• Morgana Robinson has made one appearance in each of the three series, each time as a different character.
• Geoffrey McGivern appeared as three separate one-off characters, all of which were temperamental directors working with Toast.

Episodes

Pilot episode (2012)

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
Pilot	"The Unspeakable Play"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	20 August 2012
Guest starring: Geoffrey McGivern, Fiona Mollison

Series 1 (2013)

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Addictive Personality"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	20 October 2013
Toast is informed that he will be the recipient of an acting award. Meanwhile, the daughter of the Nigerian Ambassador has been the victim of some unscrupulous plastic surgery, so Ed invites her to stay at the flat to recuperate. Guest starring: Emma Fryer, Morgana Robinson
2	"Afternoon Tea"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	27 October 2013
Toast is cast in a new play, and the director has a dark and dangerous past. Guest starring: Geoffrey McGivern, Emily Bruni
3	"Vanity Project"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	3 November 2013
Toast is caught in the middle of an acrimonious and expensive divorce so he needs to find a lot of cash, fast. Guest starring: Alan Ford, John Guerrasio, Stanley Townsend, Alison Pargeter, Daisy Ridley
4	"Submission"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	10 November 2013
After helping the Royal Navy on a recent project, Toast is invited to the launch of their new nuclear submarine, the "Penetrator". Guest starring: Lisa Jackson, Rachel Shelley
5	"The End"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	17 November 2013
Toast is tired of doing crummy voiceovers and appearing every night in his bad play. With the help of a new agent, Brooke Hooberman, he tries his hand at a new career: an author of erotic literature. Guest starring: Carol Cleveland, Sally Dexter
6	"Bonus Ball"	Michael Cumming	Matt Berry and Arthur Mathews	24 November 2013
After losing £20,000 to Andrew Lloyd Webber in a celebrity poker game, Toast finds himself hunted by musical superstar and part-time theatre-land enforcer Michael Ball

Series 2 (2014)

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Match Fit"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	3 November 2014
Toast accepts Ed's invitation to the Celebrities and Prostitutes Blow Football Tournament and becomes obsessed with winning. Guest Starring: Trevor Laird, Louise Jameson
2	"Desperate Measures"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	10 November 2014
After Ray Purchase snitches on him to the 'Tax People', Toast receives a massive tax bill, and is forced to take on some unappealing jobs to pay off the debt. Guest Starring: Paul Darrow, Trevor Laird, John Nettles, Geoffrey McGivern
3	"The Moosetrap"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	17 November 2014
A return to the West End stage in the legendary 'whodunnit' play The Moose Trap is seriously jeopardised when Toast reveals the killer's identity in a radio interview. Guest Starring: Peter Davison, Terry Mynott
4	"High Winds Actor"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	24 November 2014
After the tragic death of his friend Axel Jacklin, Britain's finest exponent of acting in high winds, Toast finds himself in demand for dramatic roles. Guest Starring: Terry Mynott, Stephen Boxer, Peter Davison
5	"Buried Alive!"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	1 December 2014
Toast is very excited to land a major role in a big movie, but when his co-star, Max Gland, has an accident on set, it has terrifying consequences for Toast's role. Guest Starring: Matthew Holness
6	"Fool in Love"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	8 December 2014
An old heartbreaker flame of Toast's, Lorna Wynde, turns up in London, but is she still in love with him, or is she trying to make her husband, Josh Homme, jealous? Guest Starring: Morgana Robinson, Josh Homme, Alan Ford, Steve Pemberton (as Francis Bacon)

Series 3 (2015)

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Over the Moon"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	18 November 2015
A tipsy Steven appears on Lorraine chat show and tells a story from his past that could bring down the U.S. government. Later, he suffers stage fright ahead of his starring role in Macbeth. Guest Starring: Alan Ford, Charlotte Cornwell, Lorraine Kelly
2	"Beauty Calls"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	25 November 2015
With Ed dating former beauty queen Penvelope, Steven hooks up with her friend Clancy Moped. However, their romances are jeopardized when the guys are invited to judge a beauty contest. Guest Starring: Paul Whitehouse, Vic Reeves, Morgana Robinson, Peter Davison
3	"Hamm on Toast"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	2 December 2015
Toast experiences the charisma of Mad Men star Jon Hamm. Guest Starring: Jon Hamm, Brian Blessed
4	"Bob a Job"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	9 December 2015
Toast and Purchase perform the "sand dance" at Royal Variety Performance, hosted by Bob Monkhouse. Guest Starring: Bob Mortimer, Pat Shortt
5	"Man of Sex"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	16 December 2015
When appearing in a play called "Man of Sex", Toast's co star is taken to rehab. Replacing him is the albino twin brother of Ray Purchase, Bill Purchase. Guest Starring: Timothy West, Sinead Matthews
6	"Global Warming"	Michael Cumming	Arthur Mathews and Matt Berry	23 December 2015
Toast is set to appear alongside a cast consisting entirely of dogs, in a production of Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre. Guest Starring: Steve Furst, Sebastian Armesto; Celebrity cameos: Lindsay Duncan, Martin Freeman, Sheila Hancock, Jude Law, Sam Mendes, Tim Pigott-Smith, John Simm

Book

In 2015, Matt Berry and Arthur Mathews published "Toast on Toast: Cautionary tales and candid advice", a spoof autobiography of Steven Toast. It was also released as an audio book read by Matt Berry.

References

1. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2432604/

External links

• Toast of London at channel4.com
• Toast of London at British Comedy Guide
• Toast of London at the Internet Movie Database