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Lynda Day, Chief Editor
Played by: Julia Sawalha
- Benevolent Boss: She tries to be this like when she returns to the junior gazette.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In Yesterday's News when she finds out about Spike's new ideas for how to improve the Junior Gazette.
- Birds of a Feather: Shown with Spike as they are both dorky. Also Lampshaded by herself to open her talk with Colin in Something Terrible part 2.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She gets overexcited about finding news which doesn't necessarily help but she does show a passion for what she does and talks on behalf of her peers.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: She's simply emotionless and mean spirited when it comes to cracking jokes. See Deadpan Snarker.
- Character Development: Her relationship with Colin changes notably and permanently after their heart to heart conversation in the two parter Something Terrible.
- Deadpan Snarker: The king of this trope. Towards her peers and is the reason why she can't tell jokes.
- Death Glare: Her stock in trade.
- Dude Magnet: With Spike and her ex boyfriend James.
- Everyone Can See It: With Spike.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic.
- Girl Next Door: And how not. She's dorky, vulnerable and socially awkward which makes her more attractive.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: Was jealous of all of Spike's girlfriends.
- Hidden Depths: Her vulnerability.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She makes no attempts to impress with her opinionated attitude to cover up her vulnerability.
- Informed Loner: She simply doesn't want friends as mentioned in the first episode.
- Insufferable Genius: Wants to take control of her newsroom and her friends.
- Like Brother and Sister: Her relationship with Kenny.
- Manipulative Bastard: Lampshaded by her friend Sarah.
- No Sense of Humour: The reason why she can't tell jokes is because she simply isn't funny herself.
- No Social Skills: Best seen when going to her cocktail party.
- Only Sane Man: Sometimes seen as this, when she has to control her newspaper staff.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: Most of her peers fear her because of this. It could be argued since at least half her initial staff are at the Junior Gazette as some sort of behavioral rehabilitation, this is the attitude needed to pull them into line, which has become her standard operating mode by the time the JG goes commercial.
- The Rival: With Spike initially. Also with David and Colin.
- Straight Man: Towards Spike, Frazz and Colin.
- Serious Business: Her passion towards the newspaper.
- Tsundere: A good example of this.
- The Unfettered: The only thing she wouldn't do for the Junior Gazette is fold to blackmail.
- Ungrateful Bastard: When dating Spike she doesn't let him take control of the newsroom.
- Worthy Opponent: With Spike.
Spike Thompson, "Star Reporter"
Played By: Dexter Fletcher
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Is capable of finding stories but is sometimes too distracted by Lynda.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: zig-zagged. Is just as capable of telling corny dad jokes as witty one-liners.
- Chick Magnet: Attracts lots of women including Lynda.
- Deadpan Snarker: Almost as snarky as Lynda.
- Everyone Can See It: With Lynda. And I do mean everyone in the vicinity.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric.
- Genius Ditz: Good at finding stories for the Gazette despite being lazy.
- Hidden Depths: His rocky relationship with his dad
- Innocently Insensitive: Makes jokes that can be insulting.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Started off as a bully and delinquent, and has attacked some people, but shows deep respect for most of his peers including Lynda at the Junior Gazette.
- Kavorka Man: Isn't traditionally handsome but still attracts girls.
- Manchild: Not as much as Colin but his attempts at humour make him this.
- No Social Skills: His attempts at humour of course.
- Oh, Crap!: When he finds out that Lynda has found out about his ideas to improve the workplace.
- The Pollyanna: Best seen when he is trapped in a explosion.
- The Rival: With Lynda initially.
- Straight Man: To Colin.
- Worthy Opponent: With Lynda.
Colin Matthews, Finance and Advertising
Played By: Paul Reynolds
- Benevolent Boss: Tries to be this when he takes Lynda's place as editor.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: The best example on the show. He is talented at selling anything, no matter how strange.
- The Con: Always trying to scheme in order to make money. Possibly best illustrated by the episode when the local telephone exchange temporarily swaps the newsroom number with a pizza place; for the first three-quarters of the episode, a Running Gag has a random staffer holding the phone and asking "Is Colin selling pizzas?" before telling the caller 'Sorry, wrong number.' And yes, the final installment has Colin taking a pizza order before Lynda cuts the call off.
- Dirty Coward: Usually, but inverted in The Last Word, when he put himself before the news team when there was a gun siege. It gets him shot.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: In Something Terrible.
- Enemy Mine: When he lets Lynda help him sell the story of child abuse in the paper to urge an abused child to come forward in Something Terrible part 2.
- Face–Heel Revolving Door: In Something Terrible.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Particularly towards Lynda.
- Genius Ditz: He is a terrific salesman and is very informative despite his naive behavior towards serious situations.
- Going Native: When he dresses up as a Muslim Prince in At Last A Dragon.
- Hidden Depths: He can be compassionate as seen in Something Terrible.
- Innocently Insensitive: He tries to be nice to his peers and give them advice but he is almost always wrong. Probably the best example on the show.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He lives to hustle and is chronically dishonest but underneath the snake oil is a (sometimes) genuinely nice guy.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Courtesy of Spike. In At Last a Dragon Colin impersonates "an Arabian Knight" (Spike's words) at the exclusive cocktail party Lynda and Spike are attending, in order to scam some of the wealthy and influential people attending note . Spike finds him working his targets, and steers the conversation towards Colin giving a lecture on his supposed native culture. Colin's expression says it all!
- Like Brother and Sister: His relationship with Cindy in Something Terrible.
- Manchild: He is naive about serious situations like their peer David putting a loaded gun in his mouth.
- No Social Skills: When dating women.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Oh very much so. After all he's a salesman.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: what tips Lynda off in Something Terrible part 2:Lynda: I'm saying that I know how an obsessive behaves because I am one. And I know what it takes to knock an obsessive off the rails because I've been there.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: When he takes over for Lynda. He doesn't act mean but he isn't fit to run a newspaper. He's so busy running the paper to keep making money (his default setting) and get high approval ratings from the staff, that he forgets that the newspaper has to include, well, news and unbiased reporting.
- Serious Business: A lot of the time when he's hustling. It's what he has in common with Lynda.
- Small Name, Big Ego: His get rich quick schemes, not to mention he's slimy.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In Something Terrible.
- Ultimate Job Security: In the first season where his wacky ideas weak havoc.
Kenny Phillips, Assistant Editor
- Beware the Nice Ones: He is very long suffering especially in Love And The Junior Gazette.
- Deadpan Snarker: Whenever he's neurotic or cracking a joke.
- Everyman: He's a wise cracker but is well behaved.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic.
- Generic Guy: Lampshaded a lot.
- Hidden Depths: His singing talents.
- Like Brother and Sister: His relationship with Lynda. Since they were about six, according to the episode Going back to Jasper Street.
- Nice Guy: He thinks of himself as this, and Lynda says that he is only friends with her because he's nice to everyone. He's actually insulted by this comment.
- Only Sane Man: The quintessential example on the show as he's more calmer than Lynda and he's the most relatable and normal character on the show.
- Straight Man: With Lynda and Spike.
