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Marion and Geoff is a BBC television mockumentary, produced by Baby Cow Productions and screened on BBC Two in 2000, with a second series following in 2003. The series starred Rob Brydon as Keith Barret, a naïve taxicab driver going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he failed to realise it, had had a long-standing affair with her work colleague, Geoff. Each episode was presented as a monologue, filmed by a fixed camera in the confines of his cab.

The series were written by Brydon and Hugo Blick, and produced and directed by Blick. The associate producer was Steve Coogan.

The script is written in such a way that the viewer can pick up on clues that Keith has not himself deciphered. Numerous references are made to one of "his" children not resembling him very strongly, an obvious hint that one of the children he loves so dearly is not his own, but in fact Geoff's. Keith also gives clues in the first series about his wife's activities - the viewer knows about Marion's affair long before he works it out himself.

Keith's character is affectionately portrayed as a harmless simpleton and draws a great deal of sympathy as the series progresses. He is in denial about his divorce, and somehow always manages to look on the positive side of even the most depressing situation. Although he doesn't realise it, his life revolves around Marion and her new partner Geoff, and his love for his "little smashers" (his children). Despite all of his faults, Keith is a very honest and very kind man.

Series 1[link]

Series 1 consists of 10 episodes all around 9 minutes long. It was first transmitted in 2000. The series was later repeated, with the original segments combined into 30-minute episodes. (Episode 7, "The Monkeys", was not included in this format).

1. "The Presents"
2. "The Gun"
3. "The Homecoming"
4. "The Tunnel"
5. "The Phone"
6. "The Second Hottest Day"
7. "The Monkeys"
8. "The Birthday"
9. "The Divorce"
10. "The Girlfriend"

Series 2[link]

Series 2 consists of 6 episodes all 30 minutes long. It was first transmitted in 2003.

1. "The Services"
2. "The Boys"
3. "The Wife"
4. "The Husband"
5. "Geoff"
6. "Keith"

Other Keith Barret appearances[link]

• Comic Relief Special - a 2001 special 8-minute episode for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day.
• A Small Summer Party - a 2001 50-minute special based around Keith's initial discovery of Marion and Geoff's affair, and thus a prequel to the series proper, although produced between the first and second runs. (This was the first time we saw Geoff's and Marion's characters on-screen, played by Steve Coogan and Tracy-Ann Oberman respectively).
• The Keith Barret Show - a 2004 spoof chat/debate show tackling the subject of relationships, hosted by "Keith Barret", who interviewed a different celebrity couple on each show.

Further reading[link]

• Nelson, Robin (2006). "In Between Marion and Geoff". Journal of British Cinema and Television (Edinburgh University Press) 3 (1): 115–121. DOI:10.3366/JBCTV.2006.3.1.115. 

External links[link]

• Marion and Geoff at BBC Online Comedy Guide
• Marion and Geoff at BBC Programmes
• Marion and Geoff at the Internet Movie Database
• A Small Summer Party at the Internet Movie Database

Geoffrey Leyden Keith, born at Winchester, Hampshire on 19 November 1937 and died at Southampton on 26 December 1975, played first-class cricket for Somerset, Hampshire and Western Province.

Somerset cricketer[link]

Keith made his first-class debut for Somerset against Cambridge University in May 1959, scoring 40 in his first innings.^[1] He played only one further first-team match that year, but in 1960 was given a run of 10 matches in the first half of the season. But his highest score was only 48 in the match against Gloucestershire at Bath, and his bowling was not used at all.^[2] After three unsuccessful games in the early part of the 1961 season, he left Somerset at the end of the season and joined Hampshire for the 1962 season.

Hampshire career[link]

In his first match for his new county, Keith scored 82 and 12 not out against Oxford University, but though it was a new highest score for him it was also his only first-class match of the 1962 season.^[3] He played only three matches in 1963, but the long-standing opening batsman Jimmy Gray was available for only the second half of the 1964 season, and Keith stood in for him for the first two months, opening with Roy Marshall, though he failed to retain his place for long once Gray was available again. In the most prolific season of his career, he scored 653 runs with a highest of 75 and an average of 21.76.

There were more matches but a different batting position in 1965: Barry Reed and Mike Barnard became Marshall's more regular opening partners, while Keith resumed batting in the middle order. His aggregate for the season at 561 runs was lower than in 1964, but his average had improved to 26.75 and the season included the only century of his career, an unbeaten 101 in the match against the South African touring side.^[4] His little used off-spin also got its best reward in the 1965 season, with four wickets for 49 runs in Gloucestershire's first innings in the match at Bristol.^[5]

In 1966, however, Keith went back to being a bit-part player in the Hampshire side, playing only seven matches and making only 86 runs in them. He had a further good run in the first team in the first months of the 1967 season, and made 53 against Sussex before losing his place.^[6] Regaining it with an innings of 85 against Oxford University, he lost it again only two games later, and, with younger players such as David Turner and Keith Wheatley seizing their chances, he was not picked again. He left Hampshire at the end of the season to move to South Africa.

South Africa and after[link]

Keith played twice for Western Province in the B section of the Currie Cup, but made little impact. He returned to Hampshire to become the county's cricket coach in 1971, and played and captained the second eleven from 1971 to 1975. The levels of fitness and the high standard of fielding were cited as among the reasons why an unfancied Hampshire won its second County Championship title in 1973.^[7]

Early death[link]

Keith died from a heart attack aged 38. His obituary in Wisden states: "His early death was particularly tragic as he was a man who took great pains to keep himself physically fit."^[8]

External links[link]

Geoff Keith at www.cricketarchive.com.^[9]

References[link]