SLOB IDOL #4: Onslow.

Onslow: show-stealing slob anti-hero.

Apologies for another formulaic example from a sitcom, but before we can explore the nuances of slob culture we must first understand the clichés. It is perhaps also the case that comedy, as an exaggerated reflection of real life, produces the most memorable and culturally pervasive slobs.

Onslow is the unlikely star of the early 90s class-based comedy, Keeping Up Appearances. The show is a gentle satire of the British class system, whose main character is the affected, socially-climbing snob, Hyacinth Bucket (or "Bouquet," as she prefers to pronounce it).

Onslow, meanwhile, began as an auxiliary character: Hyacinth's downmarket brother-in-law and an archetypal couch-potato. While Hyacinth ties herself in knots trying to maintain a middle class pretense within the community, Onslow and his family prove a continued source of embarrassment that might jeopardise Hyacinth's attempts to disguise her working class roots.

Of course, being a self-confessed idler who is comfortable in his class, Onslow emerges a humble and genuine victim, thereby winning the audience's affection and unexpectedly stealing the show. He proves that not only does everyone love an underdog, everyone loves a slob too.

Onslow also deserves praise for pushing the boundaries of the stereotypical couch-potato uniform. While he ticks all the obvious boxes with his tubby physique, dirty trucker cap and lack of grooming, he takes things one step further by sporting a sweater sans shirt. That's some bold sartorial trailblazing for somebody who obviously doesn't give a shit.