| Herr Lipp | |
|---|---|
| |
| Actor | Steve Pemberton |
| Appearances | |
| Programme | The League of Gentlemen |
| Series | 2, Christmas special, Anniversary Specials |
| First appearance | "Lust for Royston Vasey" |
| Last appearance | "Return To Royston Vasey" |
| Other appearances | The League of Gentlemen: Live at Drury Lane The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You! The League of Gentlemen Live Again! |
| Information | |
| Marital status | Married |
| Occupation | Tour guide Choirmaster (formerly) |
| Related characters | Lotte Lipp (wife) Justin Smart (love interest) Matthew Parker (love interest) |
Herr Wolf Lipp is a character from the BBC sitcom The League of Gentlemen. He is played by Steve Pemberton.
Background[]
The beginnings of Herr Lipp began with Steve and Reece creating characters from costumes they owned. Steve made one with tape on the lip, went into the room where Reece was and said: "could this be a character?" Reece said "Herr Lipp could be a German".
Herr Lipp was based on German teachers that the group met on tours, a man who called himself "the Queen of Duisburg", a girl that has a crush on Steve and a hospital Chaplain Steve met during his recovery from his heart attack.
The Lipp/Justin sketches were played out in the stage show with Reece as Justin, however when they brought the characters to TV, Reece decided he looked too old and so Blake Ritson took the role.
Appearances[]
Series Two[]
Herr Lipp comes to Royston Vasey in "Lust for Royston Vasey" with his class from Germany. He is the student councillor and doesn't hide his sinister side, but, using his broken English he is forgiven. He reveals he has been to England before and clearly had an affair, taking a blue towel. Clearly he has his favourites, speaking to a student called Dieter and offering English lessons which might be an attempt for sex. When they arrive, Roberta "Bobbi" Smart reveals that he will be staying at her house with her son Justin, who he falls in love with at first sight.
In "Love Comes to Royston Vasey", Herr Lipp bumps into Justin and reveals that part of the day's activity is to play football. He tries to flirt, and it goes over Justin's head. The football match is never seen, but it's close to Judee Levinson's house as she is woken up by it.
During "Anarchy in Royston Vasey", Mrs Smart is infected with the nosebleed virus. Herr Lipp gives Justin some flowers to cheer him up and the option to cancel the farewell party due to his mother's sickness, but he gives it the go-ahead. That evening, Herr Lipp has prepared the party early, to have his way with Justin. This is stopped by Lotte, who argues with him. Before leaving, he reveals that his marriage to Lotte is a sham and that he is gay. Justin feels uncomfortable and rejects the (drugged) coffee Herr Lipp has made. He throws it in Justin's face, knocking the boy out, and he rips off his toupee. Herr Lipp tells Lotte to get a shovel and they bury him.
In the finale, Herr Lipp says goodbye to Mrs Smart (who has now recovered), ready to see him off, and they remark on Justin not being there as well. When she goes to call the boarders (due to the nosebleed plague, they have stopped people coming and going), Herr Lipp goes to a patch in the garden and says goodbye to Justin, who is buried with a snorkel. When the Local Shop is ablaze, Herr Lipp's coach is driving away and he remarks on the "bonfire" as exciting.
Christmas Special[]
Herr Lipp appears in the second story of the Special, told by Matthew Parker. In Christmas 1975, Wolf was a Choirmaster in Duisburg, proudly conducting his boys. Matthew appears, and Wolf remembers him - he still has his broken English, and explains to the choir what Matthew is doing there. As Wolf tells Matthew about his relationship with the boys, saying how he is like a father - before he could talk more, Lotte appears and Wolf introduces her as his wife. She replies in German "but not in bed" and they leave for Wolf's home at Schwannmühle-Weg.
Wolf shows Matthew his room. It is decorated like a nursery. It turns out Wolf and Lotte couldn't (or didn't) have children and Lotte is jealous of the relationship Wolf has with the choirboys. He tells Matthew where everything is and wishes him goodnight. However, he watches Matthew get undressed through a peep-hole. Matthew only gets half-naked before switching the light off and Wolf leaves, covering his erection with his briefcase. Matthew has a nightmare seeing Herr Lipp as a Vampire, biting him.
That Christmas performance, while Matthew sings well, the other choirboys notice the bite-marks on Matthew's neck. Wolf thinks the boys have noticed something else and gives Matthew a dirty look. At the Christmas party, Wolf is playing with the boys, and Matthew upon seeing the bite-marks, thinks Wolf did it. He doesn't try and hide it when he drinks a glass of tomato juice passionately while looking at Matthew from the doorway. That night, he gifts Matthew aftershave and tries to seduce him. Matthew asks him to leave, which upsets Wolf.
During the Boxing Day rehearsal, Matthew confronts Wolf, throwing Holy Water on him as he reveals what he thinks, presenting Wolf with a mirror. However, Wolf has a reflection while the choirboys don't, revealing the choirboys are the vampires as they show off their fangs. Lotte explains that she was angry Wolf couldn't provide boys, so she turned the choir, revealing her true Vampire form and telling the boys to get Wolf. He lets Matthew escape and is bitten by the boys turning him into a Vampire.
Anniversary Special[]
Wolf returns to Royston Vasey, remarking that he wishes to "dig up some old friends" (presumably meaning Justin) and watch a game of boys' football.
Live Shows[]
Drury Lane[]
Herr Lipp appears in Act Two, where he introduces the audience to 'classic British games' including Blind Man's Poof (a play on words of Blind Man's Buff). He decides to play it with a guy from the audience, blindfolds him and gives him a sausage to grab. His volunteer guesses it's him and he shows the victim the truth of what he grabbed.
Are Behind You[]
In Act One, Lipp has decorated the room for a Christmas party. Dustin (a totally different character to Justin who is played by Reece) and Lipp chat about the rest of the group auditioning for the CommuNativity. Lipp's flirting with Dustin makes him uncomfortable, so he goes to leave, but upon seeing the mistletoe offers Lipp a kiss. When Lipp goes to kiss him, Lotte shouts at him to stop sleepwalking and Lipp sadly kisses the air.
Live Again[]
Trivia[]
- The Smart's house was a real home and the family sat on the stairs while they heard Justin's screaming.
- The Duisburg home belonged to a couple that never changed its design since it was built in the 70s.
- The Vampire references in the Christmas special include Lipp's pointing upstairs, based on Nosferatu, plus a line from the 1970s remake - "The absence of love is the most abject pain", and Lipp as a Vampire in the dream sequence included imagery based on Salem's Lot.
- The nursery scene in the Christmas special is taken from The Woman in Black.
- Schwannmühle-Weg is German for Swanmill's Estate where the Dentons live.
- In the Drury Lane Show, Steve would always find someone that was tall, but one night he brought up a 14-year-old so Steve quickly asked for the boy's older brother.
- In the "Behind the Scenes" for the Are Behind You DVD, Steve went from Harvey Denton to Herr Lipp. In one performance he kept on Harvey's nude suit and dropped his trousers, exposing the fake penis.
- The 'pink pamphlet' that Lipp gives out to the boys on the trip is included in the Local Book for Local People.