Matt Lucas as Pompidou P Pompidou - Pompidou is a simple, dim-witted, penniless, but nice, lord of the manor. He is often attempting to overcome some kind of problem, or attempting something new. He frequently is a source of problems for his butler, and often is persistent in getting what he wants and keeping Hove loyal to him. While not speaking, he does have notable trademarks, including often greeting others with "Good afternoon", saying "No" when he's not satisfied with something, chastising another with "Naughty. Very naughty",, and acting childish and wailing when he is hurt, either by slap or being trodden on, in which he breaks the fourth wall and says "That hurt me. That really hurt me".
Alex Macqueen as Hove - Hove is Pompidou's butler, and often has to deal with constant issues with his master. As such, he often bears the brunt of problems encountered, often getting the worst of it, but, grudgingly, stay loyal to him, but can sometimes be frustrated by issues he encounters.
Marion - Pompidou's dog, an Afghan Hound who is often the sensible one of the three. Smart, very literate, and skilled, Marion is often told off for doing things any dog would attempt, while always having to put up with the issues that both Pompidou and Hove deal with.
Jane Asher starred in episode 3, Anita Dobson played the role of Sally in episode 4 and Beattie Edmondson appeared in episodes 1 and 6. Australian actress Rebel Wilson, Matt Lucas' roommate when they both lived in the U.S., makes an uncredited cameo as a Vicki Pollard lookalike from Little Britain in episode 5. Julian Dutton, one of the show's co-creators and writers, appeared in episode 2 as the TV Delivery Man.
Episodes
Critical reception
The series was widely panned on release. Ben Dowell of the Radio Times labelled it "a strange beast", describing Lucas' character as "selfish, vain, venal and oddly childlike. I think he’d like me to add "appealing" but I can’t." Echoing remarks made by many other reviewers, Sally Newall of The Independent compared Lucas' shtick unfavourably to Rowan Atkinson's in Mr. Bean, as well as Lucas' own as the faux-disabled character Andy Pipkin in Little Britain. Michael Hogan of The Telegraph called it "pretty painful: 25 minutes that felt like 75, with telegraphed jokes and interminable scenes. Justin “Mr Tumble” Fletcher does this sort of clowning better over on CBeebies." The idea that the series would be better served on a children's network was echoed by commenters on the trailer on YouTube. Negative audience reaction continued when the show came to Netflix as a "Netflix original", where it became the entertainment provider's lowest rated original series. A retrospective on the series and its reception, by The Guardian's Brian Logan, spoke more positively, if not unreservedly, about Pompidou. Describing a supposed strain of snobbery in British criticism of silent comedy, and comedy that children can enjoy, Logan goes on to say that "some set-pieces don’t work... And yes, some of it’s hokey and old-fashioned", but also speculates that any silent comedy vehicle may well have received "the sniffiness that’s greeted Pompidou".
