Stella Hull is the bitter wife of Charlie. They tend to communicate via a third person, arguing bitterly through this middleman until they get uncomfortable and leave, after which point they act civil.
Inspiration[]
Steve and Reece went to an Italian Restaurant in Highgate looking for ideas. The couple were in silence but when Luigi the Waiter enters they came to life, which they used for the first sketch.
Appearances[]
Series One[]
Charlie and Stella go to Mamma Mia, an Italian restaurant (unsurprisingly), and the two immediately start making jabs at one another. As the scene goes on, they talk only when Luigi (the waiter) is present, utilising him as a middleman in their dispute. When they begin to beg Luigi for help, he reveals that his name is actually Carl, and he's not even Italian. When he leaves, they remark that he had called himself Luigi, speaking civilly to one another.
Series Two[]
Stella is looking after Jade, the baby of a woman with a nosebleed. She tells the baby that Charlie doesn't care for her or Julie (their daughter), and that she shouldn't worry about men. While warming Jade's bottle, Charlie reveals that Stella spends most of their money on her gambling addiction. The two begin to argue yet again until Jade starts crying.
In the final episode, Stella is seen in the Title Sequence where she walks bemused by the madness around her. Later at home, she and Charlie are entertaining Julie's fiance Tony Bell while Julie is recovering from a nosebleed. They are playing Trivial Pursuit, which quickly devolves into petty arguments with Tony being used as a means of talking to one another. Charlie asks Stella if she has ever had an affair, to which she tells him to ask Tony (implying that the two had in fact been affair partners).
Christmas Special[]
Stella is present in Charlie's dream, which is told to Bernice. The dream starts as expected - the two of them arguing through a middleman (this time Julie) as they put up Christmas decorations, with Stella being displeased about Charlie's newfound love for line dancing. At his next performance, Stella complains to her friend Donna (played by Liza Tarbuck) about this, and is told to go and visit Solutions.
At doing so, she is met with a room full of Royston Vasey's women, including Judee, Pam, and Val. They say they will solve her problems, but only if she obtains a lock of his hair, an item he uses every day, and a picture of him. She asks about how much it'll cost, but isn't told. The items are quickly sent off.
On Boxing Day, the day of Charlie's big performance, Stella seems rather chipper about the event. Donna picks up on this, and inquires about how it went with Solutions, with Stella replying that they'll just have to wait and see. Soon enough, Charlie's performance begins, and is quickly sabotaged by the voodoo doll that Solutions have created (which is at one point accidentally set alight). Charlie makes an absolute fool of himself, but persists on with his performance until the end of the song. Stella is overall thrilled.
The next scene shows Stella with Donna's husband (with whom she had been having an affair), discussing her success. However, the fun is soon over, as he begins to bleed out. Donna appears, revealing herself to be a part of Solutions, and telling Stella that being framed for this murder is the price she must pay.
Series Three[]
Stella travels past Spit and Polish with Charlie following her. She is then seen gambling in The Greedy Slits - Charlie confronts her about this, but she claims it's just a hobby. The real reason she's there so often, however, is because Tony works there.
Charlie asks Stella that night about potentially having a threesome, but she shuts it down, telling him she isn't sleeping with Judee Levinson. However, this is not who he had in mind - he suggests that Tony could be their third, which Stella finds outright ridiculous.
Stella then shows up in the bathrooms of Mamma Mia (after Tony and Judee have both berated Charlie) to announce to him that she had won the jackpot on the machine she'd been playing - she was going to Tenerife, but he was staying at the Windermeres.
Anniversary Special[]
Stella enters Luigi's with her new man Scott, who is physically abusive - she is in a wheelchair and has a black eye. Charlie is also there, and they speak to each other through Luigi once again, however it's made clear that they are still majorly in love and unable to move on.
Live Shows[]
Drury Lane[]
Charlie and Stella appear in Act One where the original Tony Sketch is recreated.
..Are Behind You![]
Stella is the back half of Daisy the Cow, but separates the halves to complain that Charlie keeps farting. Stella admits she wants a divorce, saying she'd allow him to keep the house but she wants to take Julie to Tenerife. Charlie says she can't, but Stella won't take no for an answer. As she keeps persisting, he's forced to remind her that Julie died ten years prior; she had drowned in the bath when Stella went to check the lottery numbers. The two reconcile, before re-connecting their costumes and making their way to the market.
Live Again[]
Behind The Scenes[]
- Reece Shearsmith claims Stella looks like his mother.
- The password for Solutions came from James Rampton, a critic who they invited to a party, who had asked if there was going to be Prawn Toast.
- The mask Stella wore for Solutions was going to be either Postman Pat or Teletubbies, but the copyright was too much for Teletubbies.
- Reece only played Stella in the warehouse scene: Judee, Pam Doove and Vinnie were played by extras in costume and the voices dubbed in.
- When Charlie and Stella were in bed the room was so hot that Reece flubbed his line about Judee Levinson's dyed privates. One blooper was in the Reel for the Series Three DVD.