"Now you're gonna tell this joke - and we're all gonna laugh!"
- Geoff Tipps
Geoffrey "Geoff" Tipps is a character from the BBC sitcom, The League of Gentlemen. He is played by Reece Shearsmith. Geoff is a plastic moulding salesman. His two colleagues and best friends are Mike (Steve Pemberton) and Brian (Mark Gatiss). Geoff has a cruel sense of humour and anger issues.
Inspiration[]
Geoff was inspired by a time when Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith were eating at a restaurant and heard a man trying to remember a joke for his two friends but the one friend kept butting in. This would be the being of the Mau Mau joke which appeared in the original stage show and would appear on radio.
TV Appearance[]
Series One[]
We see Geoff and Mike, walking down the street while Brian is slow, Mike tells Geoff a joke but when he tells the same to Brian it's clear that he missed the context. While at a pub he Brian to tell Mike a joke about Mau-Mau, however he keeps interfering thus spoiling the joke. When Brian was unable to remember the joke, Geoff pulled out a gun and put it to Mike's head. As Brian is unable to remember it, Mike delivers the punchline with Geoff then sparing his life.
When Mike announces his engagement, Geoff was so desperate to be the Best Man that he lies saying that Brian called Mike's fiancee, Cheryl, a moose. When Brian claims Geoff said it, Geoff says that Cheryl looks old causing Mike to walk out. He apologized to Mike who made him Best Man. He gives Mike an electric tube as an engagement present.
At the Wedding, he hires Ken Sweeney to take pictures which went wrong. He give a Best Man speech which, he tells of being kids, it was clear that he hated Mike for his perfect life and revealed that Mike cheated with Katie (Geoff's wife) who later married Brian, he was about to shoot Brian but Mike calmed him down.
Geoff also pretended to shoot himself at his birthday, thinking that Mike and Brian had forgotten. He was later confused at his friends' anger at him.
Series Two[]
When Geoff, Mike and Brian were travelling to a plastics convention, Geoff insulted Barbara, their taxi driver so much, she forced them out of the taxi and they had to continue on foot. When Brian was injured, Geoff stayed with him, while Mike went off to find help. Geoff gradually turned insane, believing he saved their lives, everyone would treat him like a hero. When he thought he heard an intruder, he attacked them with a heavy stick - afterwards it turned out it was Mike.
Geoff planned to dig a hole for Mike, and got into an argument with Brian. It turned out Mike was only stunned and Geoff and Brian told him it was wolves that knocked him out. They did arrive at the convention.
Series Three[]
Due to changes at work, Geoff was fired, so he went to London to become a stand-up comic. He had a friend Don Lynch who owned a Comedy Bar called The Salmon of Knowledge, his act was a complete disaster, due to his poor material and nerves changing into anger. When calling Don for help with money, he told him, he needed Geoff to drive a car to Don's wife's work as a surprise present. However, Mike saw Geoff in the car, thinking he was doing well as he was about to offer him Brian's job as he had disappeared seeing that he was doing well he leaves happy he "made it".
That night after dreaming he was a successful comedian Geoff awoke to the news, the car he took blew up, and he was wanted. Geoff in disguised with Bleached Hair no facial hair, discovered that Don had disappeared framing him for the terror attack.
Geoff stole Legz Akimbo's van to drive back to Royston Vasey. As he was driving down the high street of Vasey distracted while speaking to Mike, he swerved to miss hitting Pauline Campbell-Jones and crashed into a wall. Geoff was horrifically injured in the accident and had to undergo massive facial surgery much to his relief. However, during his stay in the hospital, he received constant visits where people hugely enjoyed his jokes and anecdotes.
2017 Specials[]
Geoff now working at the garden centre, tries to sell a product to Mike and Brian (a la Dragon's Den) it fails but Mike pays Geoff mercy kill Cheryl who is now morbidly obese. Geoff breaks into the house climbs the stairs doing the deed. Afterwards, he calls Mike only to find out he went to the wrong house as Mike lives in a Bungalow and the real victim might be Pauline.
Movie[]
Geoff is a main character in The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, rather than being the angry bitter coward he is on TV to be the hero despite shooting Mark Gatiss and finishes with a happy ending.
Live Shows[]
Drury Lane[]
In the Drury Lane show, Geoff appears in Act Two where the Mau Mau sketch is performed.
Pantomime[]
Geoff appears in Act One however the audience is told that a man died in a strange way, he meets Mike and Brian at the Indian for their X Mas do, he spends it insulting them and when Brian goes to leave, Geoff gets out his gun but Mike swallows the bullet. As Mike starts to choke Geoff performs the Heimlich Maneuver which has the bullet hitting Brian killing him.
Trivia[]
- When Reece was made up as Geoff the make up girl would say "bye-bye Reece" due to the way Reece changed.
- Geoff scared all the extras in the Mau Mau sketch every time they shot it.
- The original Series Two scene for the three was a fun day, however Geoff had to canoe with Cheryl who came with Mike and he lose his tempter and sunk her.
- Geoff madness is straight from Deliverance, when Reece watched back the way he ate the chocolate he hated how dainty he ate it and the stick Geoff hits Mike with was added in later due to the soft stick they used for the scene.
- Geoff preforms at the Canal Cafe Theatre where the original stage show began.
- The dream scene was done using the Drury Lane footage and adding in extras.