History of the Kevin and Perry Characters
Following this Enfield created a new series known as “Harry Enfield and Chums” and kept the Kevin and Perry sketch in the show, but with a different format. The character of Kevin was without an older brother and was himself a teenager. The pilot of the sketch showed the eve of Kevin's birthday, with Kevin and his parents waiting for midnight and Kevin to become thirteen years old.
As the clock chimes twelve, Kevin becomes a nightmare instantly, losing his dress sense, courtesy and posture in one fell swoop, creating the Kevin the Teenager character, arguably one of the most popular television characters to date. It was during these sketches that Perry was introduced, creating the famous Kevin and Perry franchise. Kevin himself wore a baseball cap the opposite way round and featured red hair, a spotty face and angry expression.
He is the typical teenager from hell, being rude to his parents and increasingly erratic in his behaviour, whereas best friend Perry in the Kevin and Perry sketches is a milder mannered teenager, who plays up a disobedient nature when with Kevin but in front of adults is polite and gracious. Kevin and Perry represent the typical UK teenagers who are angry and rude to their own parents but polite to other adults around them.
Kevin and Perry Go Large
Kevin and Perry enjoyed an increasingly growing amount of popularity, reaching their peak in the year 2000 with the Kevin and Perry feature film: Kevin and Perry Go Large.
The film showed Kevin and Perry desperate to lose their virginity and become high-earning and respected DJs and in order to achieve this they travel to Ibiza . The film was popular amongst teenagers and adults and as a result Kevin and Perry became cult icons in British culture. As well as this, Kevin and Perry have created quite a stir in vocabulary.
Due to the positive feedback and statements confirming the accuracy of Enfields stereotypical characters, the term “Kevin the Teenager” or simply “Kevin” has entered British vernacular as a term used to describe an adolescent with a bad temper and attitude, or simply rebellious nature, for example a type of adolescent such as this could be called “a right Kevin!”.
Kevin and Perry are enjoying their status as cult British icons. The Harry Enfield shows are still broadcast on various channels and Kevin and Perry have been voted in numerous polls as top comedy characters. As long as there are bad tempered, insolent and cheeky teenagers within the population, Kevin and Perry will always be with us in some way or another.