10 Unsung TV Characters Who Completely Save Their Show

10. Howard - Fresh Meat

The Characters Everyone Talks About: JP, Kingsley & Josie, Vod Fresh Meat, Channel 4's comedy-drama about student life, is the perfect outlet for comedian Jack Whitehall to showcase his "posh idiot with a heart" persona that's made him so popular. Even when he's not the centre of a scene, he still steals attention, whether he's getting in a fight at a student rally ("I only wanted to watch the rugby!") or hiding in a bath from a domestic (Davros! Hello! Well I'm just as surprised as you are about all of this...). Sadly, the geeky Howard doesn't dominate the screen quite as much as the brasher personalities of the house. He's had the biggest arc of the lot though, going from a madman blow-drying chickens without his pants on, to only-slightly socially awkward geek; he's the only one in the house who seems to have a shred of self-awareness, and he has the driest, most intelligent sense of humour out of everyone. He's naturally funny and endearing, perhaps best summarised in the scene where a fight breaks out in the library ("Do you want to take this outside?" "Well, given there are no drinks permitted inside the library and I'm about to open up a can of whoop-ass... I think we may have to.") Whilst Fresh Meat is clearly aimed at students, Howard's the character that the other viewers can relate to; he's older than the rest of them, past needing to get drunk for fun, and he doesn't care what people think of him. We can all be a bit more like Howard; it's just disappointing that much of his screen-time in Series 3 was dedicated to sketch-like comedy situations that didn't actually lead anywhere.