Barry

Barry is a version of Shaun Williamson playing himself, forever introduced as "Barry from EastEnders" long after leaving the soap. He drifts around show business functions and extras' circles, hustling for work, nursing wounded pride, and insisting he's moved on to bigger things while clearly hoping someone remembers the bigger thing he already did.

The joke is generous rather than cruel: a real actor sending up the exact fear that follows anyone who leaves a beloved role, played completely straight. Williamson commits to the flop-sweat desperation and the dogged cheerfulness underneath it, so Barry becomes a small, precise portrait of showbiz anxiety rather than a punchline about one man's career.