Nellie Bertram
Nellie Bertram
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Nellie Bertram

Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the American comedy television series The Office, portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the seventh season, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch. She is an original character, and has no counterpart in the original British version of the series.

Initially a one-episode guest star, she was reportedly the top choice to replace Steve Carell, but was unable to join the series, due to her commitment to the West End production of the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. However, Tate later returned to the role as a series regular for the second half of season eight and continued in the role for the final season.

Nellie Bertram is portrayed as a crass and outspoken woman of English nationality. She has a strong dislike for Irish people. She was born in the "working-class town" of Basildon, and, until the age of 32, spoke in a "horrendous" Essex accent.

She is an old friend of Jo Bennett's, and believes that it is possible that she is Jo's best friend, while stating that Jo, however, is not her best friend. It is highly probable that their friendship is the only reason why Jo recommended her for the Regional Manager job, as Nellie is shown to make considerably poor decisions in her professional life, such as rejecting Cathy Simms' idea of the Sabre retail stores having a beach, winter, and jungle theme, simply because she did not like the winter theme concept, and refusing to change that one theme in order for Cathy's idea to appeal to her. However, she is shown to be aware of her legion of shortcomings, telling the camera crew, in the episode "Get the Girl", "I grew up poor. I have had little formal education, and no real skills. I don't work especially hard. Most of my ideas are either unoriginal, or total crap".

Her stated philosophy in business is "if the seat is open, the job is open", a motto which had led her to briefly race a Formula One car (for what were the three slowest laps ever recorded).

Long before her move to Scranton, Nellie was in a long-term relationship with a stage magician named Henry, only to have him suddenly leave her for a waitress and vanish from her life, resulting in a loathing for anyone of that profession.

Nellie first appeared in the seventh-season finale, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, the position that Michael Scott held for the majority of the series. She returns in the episode "Tallahassee", as Sabre's president of special projects. She reveals that she reacted to being rejected for the Manager job by going on a destructive shopping spree (she mentions that she purchased 13 pianos). But, she soon came up with the concept of the Sabre company opening up a chain of retail stores, an idea that Jo was ecstatic about and hired Bertram to start the project.

Nellie had long-harbored a desire to adopt a child, and after being initially rejected by an adoption agency during season eight, finally gets her wish in the series finale.

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