The Office UK Vs US: Which Characters Are Best?

11. Glynn vs Darryl Philbin

One criticism you could levy at the UK Office is a complete disregard for its working class characters. The office workers visit the warehouse on a couple of occasions, and the entire workforce are portrayed as belligerent and backwards.

Worst of all is foreman Glynn (we all call him Taffy), best remembered for savagely shutting down Tim’s obnoxious new desk mate in the Christmas special.

The US version handles the warehouse workers much better. They’re earthier than the office lot, but they seem a far saner and more professional bunch than their white collar colleagues. This is particularly notable in Taffy’s equivalent, Darryl, who is among the most aspirational characters in the show.

He starts off as somewhat of a strawman, a blue collar guy to whom Micheal can’t relate, but works his way up the ladder before setting up his own business by the end of the show. He is one of the few calm, sensible people in the office, and is given a rich life outside the confines of the workplace.

The UK’s time constraints play a factor here, of course, but the lack of interest in that side of the business is apparent in the original show.