Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Bartleigh
|
|
Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Bartleigh was a character in the fourth and final series of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder, played by Hugh Laurie.
Public school educated, George served as a stereotype of the ever-optimistic Tommy which was portrayed back in England during the First World War. George is just as loud and foolish as Prince George in series three (indeed, it would not be too great a stretch of the imagination to say that Lieutenant George was a descendant of the ever-promiscuous Prince George), yet Lieutenant George carries himself with a great deal more innocence than the Prince, and his blind optimism shows that he is unaware of the seriousness of the situation he is in.
George serves in a First World War trench under Captain Blackadder, to whom his presence is a constant annoyance. The dugout in which they live is also shared with Private S. Baldrick. George has a special friendship with General Melchett, as the two both attended the same public school. Melchett even offers George a way out of the trenches for the 'final push', which he refuses, much to Blackadder's annoyance.
George apparently has several hidden talents, which include painting and performing in a drag act.
Lt George died for King and country, going 'over the top' in 1917.
With the Lieutenant, Hugh Laurie and the writers confirmed that the "George" character was intended to replace Percy as the "upper class twit" figure in Blackadder, though George is more of a 'public school-boy'. Laurie would reprise the role in the millennium special Blackadder Back and Forth, playing the Roman Consul Georgius and the modern day Lt The Viscount George Bufton-Tufton.