The Three Stalks

What's It About?

Think about your local pub, think about all the people who walk through the doors, all those new people walking in and those regulars that have been drinking there for years. Now imagine a sitcom based on these characters. Based around the life of landlady, Claire Tanner, the series is made up of half an hour scripts.

Claire Tanner

Age: 49

Claire runs The Three Stalks with her husband Robyn. She has a curvy build and enjoys a drink. Her mannerisms are friendly to everyone (except Robyn) and can often be heard calling everyone Darlin’. She loves the 1980s, especially the clothes, her hair is often curly and always in a style relevant for the decade. However her clothes may be a tad too small.

Claire never started out as a main character; she was just going to be the landlady at the bar Jess worked at. I enjoyed writing her so much that her character became more prominent before becoming the main character. As this is the first volume there is a lot to learn about her, however in this volume Episode Three really shows the best of her character and really establishes her.

Robyn Tanner

Age: 52

Whereas Claire is flamboyant and an extrovert, Robyn is quite the opposite. He is not a big drinker and very, very rarely swears. He does love Claire but somehow the magic has gone, sex is not very high on his list. His business has become his baby; he no longer cares about being a husband or a father anymore. After all Kelly has grown up and he doesn’t talk to Claire like a husband and wife should. He just keeps his mind on his pub.

Robyn was also meant to be very keen on the drink however in that version their arguments became aggressive and stopped being funny; it was at this point that he became the long suffering husband. The trouble with long suffering partners for audiences/ readers is they have been done plenty of times from Richard Bucket and Margret Meldrew to Jerry Ledbetter and George and Mildred Roper. Instead I wanted to explore what originally got these two together, what made them get this far and what will keep them together. Without this how will I keep the credibility of their relationship? Also Robyn is a male regardless of the fact his name is spelt the Girl’s way. There is a very simple reason behind this, I prefer that version. It is explained in the series further down the line, it’s not just a creative choice that has no meaning or reason.

Kelly Tanner

Age: early 20s

Going from boarding school to Uni, constantly changing courses, Kelly has never seen much of family life. She has also never had any responsibilities. In an effort to distance him to family life, Robyn has paid for anything that keeps Kelly occupied including a year’s travelling. But now, with her spoilt mean streak, she is back at home and is set on taking over the family business.

Originally an Anti-Jess, Kelly develops into a character of her own. In these episodes we see her at her most immature form. In a world full of bitchy comments Kelly was created to be the sly kind of bitch rather than the jokey form her mother and Agatha take.

Agatha and Arthur

Age: late 60s, Early 70s

Agatha and Arthur are mainstays at The Three Stalks, so much so that they have their own corner. They are not your typical OAP’s, swearing and sex talk are always on the agenda and they have definitely lived life to the full. The big question that no one is really sure of is ‘are they married?’. Both have been widowed and no-one really knows their surnames.