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"Characters"

Characters

Coupling series two DVD cover (region 2).Coupling is almost entirely based around the antics of the six main characters. Coupling features no recurring characters that last beyond a few episodes. In the series, "the women are mainly confident and sexually quite voracious, whilst the blokes are completely useless, riddled with self doubt and awkwardness."[3]

Steve Taylor - Best friend to Jeff, boyfriend/fiancé of Susan and ex-long-term partner of Jane, Steve is skilled at saying the exact wrong thing at the wrong time. (While dating Susan, an attractive woman asked him if he had a girlfriend and he said 'no' -- "I meant to say 'yes,' I just missed by one word.") His inability to handle pressure often leads to humorous and hugely inappropriate responses. Despite this, Steve has some common sense and often refutes the seemingly ridiculous things Jeff and Patrick come up with. Despite his flaws, he means well but always seems to lose control of the situation. No reference is made to Steve's job during the series, but in a DVD commentary, Moffat mentions that Steve is, like him, a writer. At least once per series, Steve goes off on a long rant explaining a difference of perspective between the sexes. In series 4, he has a baby boy with Susan.

The name "Steve Taylor" is very similar to "Steven Taylor", a 1960s regular character from Doctor Who, a series Moffat was a fan of and would later go on to write for. Moffat explained that although he was aware of the Doctor Who connection, the "Steve" was chosen because the character was based upon himself, and the "Taylor" to suggest a thematic link to the character of Mark Taylor in his earlier sitcom Joking Apart.[4]

Susan Walker - Best friend to Sally, girlfriend/fiancée to Steve and ex-girlfriend of Patrick, Susan is one of Jeff's co-workers. Susan is usually very sensible and organised, a fact often resented by her friends Sally and Jane. Susan can be very insecure and often takes this out on Steve. Whilst cross she will generally say "apparently," first noted in the second series, and henceforth mentioned throughout by other characters. Steve and Susan's various arguments and differences of opinion make up a majority of the comic exchanges between them. Susan is a successful career woman, speaks French fluently, and takes her work life very seriously. Whilst Susan's job is never directly referred to, she works alongside Jeff, an accountant, and she reveals she has a degree in Economics. In series 4, she has a baby boy with Steve.

Jeff Murdock (Series 1 to 3) - Best friend to Steve and co-worker to Susan, whom he has dated once. Jeff's constant sexual frustration, ridiculous stories and fantasies about women and sex make up a major part of the comedy. Jeff is terrible at talking to women, often stumbling and unintentionally making up lie upon lie in an attempt to avoid looking stupid. These always backfire on him. He is known for a fondness for the word "breasts", often muttering it during conversations. From titbits he occasionally lets slip, it appears that his problems can largely be traced back to his eccentric and domineering mother (who appears in 2.8, "Naked", played by Anwen Williams). Jeff works as an accountant in an office with Susan, and it is through him that Steve and Susan initially meet.

Sally Harper - Best friend to Susan (and girlfriend to Patrick by series 4), Sally is obsessed with her own appearance and constantly worries about the effects of aging and life in general on her looks. Her worst fear seems to be of dying alone, but she seems totally inept at relationships due to her frequent paranoia which tends to make her out as a very mean spirited woman. Sally runs her own beauty parlour and is a successful businesswoman, but out of the entire group, she is the most insecure and resentful. A Labour supporter, she finds it difficult to reconcile this with her attraction to Patrick, a Tory.

Patrick Maitland - Ex-boyfriend to Susan (and Sally's boyfriend by series 4), Patrick has a one-track mind: sex. This gives him a very narrow view of women, but he is great at courting them. Frequent references are made to his rather large penis; Susan nicknames him "donkey" and "tripod," sparking much of Sally's initial interest in him despite her other objections. He is very good at getting women to bed, and cannot comprehend meeting a woman and not screwing her. It is revealed in the fourth season that he generally leaves in middle of the night. In one episode it's revealed that unbeknownst to him, a woman from his past made a vibrator from a plaster cast of Patrick's erect penis; the box clearly has a 10-inch measurement on the side when seen later in the episode. Patrick's love of the ladies often backfires, and the series frequently features story lines about his possessive lovers and ex-lovers. Patrick is a successful businessman and is very competitive with others in the same business, but he does have a vague sense of loyalty to his friends. He collects videos of nights with his girlfriends in his rather large "cupboard of love." Despite his Tory political leanings, the character is not to be confused with the real-life Patrick Maitland, the 17th Earl of Lauderdale, who served as a Conservative MP between 1951 and 1959.

Jane Christie - Ex-long-time partner of Steve, Jane is very possessive, and despite breaking up with Steve in the first episode, she never truly seems to let go. Jane has a problem talking to men, often coming on much too strong and appearing desperate or rude to others in her pursuit of a man. Her character also seems to not be to bright, and perhaps even disturbed. In the fourth season, everyone starts referring to her as being "mad." Jane claims to be bisexual, although we have never actually seen her date a woman and Susan expresses scepticism, so this claim may be a ploy to entice men. However, she does make out with Susan in the fourth series, Susan for her own reasons, but Jane seems to just enjoy it. However, her claim is also seemingly successfully challenged by Oliver Morris in the fourth series, but is inconclusive. Jane works in a local radio station as a traffic reporter, and is popular mainly due to her flirty nature and sexually explicit reports. She was once briefly fired for telling all the drivers to close their eyes to centre themselves and changing the names of streets for her own amusement, among other things, but was re-hired due to her popularity.

Oliver Morris (Series 4) - Oliver is introduced in the fourth series and eventually becomes involved with Jane. He runs a local science fiction media store called "Hellmouths" and has been out of a relationship for several months. Oliver often has a very cynical outlook, but is prone to accidents, often making a fool of himself in the process. He is sometimes shown gearing himself up to meet women and have sex by thinking to himself, which we can hear. The geekiness of his job is also used for comic effect. Oliver also seems to have inherited Jeff's inability to talk to women, however, unlike Jeff he believes himself to be a ladies man, or in his thoughts word's "a woman-killer, I mean lady-killer..."

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