Rick Spleen

Rick Spleen is the primary protagonist of the television series Lead Balloon. He is depicted as something of an cynical and reclusive antihero, possesing little or no positive or redeeming qualities. He is an inveterate and inept liar, and this often transpires in him getting into uncomfortable or embarrasing situations. Rick's life is disturbed by petty annoyances, dissapointments, and embarrasments.

Rick was born in approximately 1961. Little is known about his childhood, other than a story recounted by him in the penultimate episode of Series Three, when he states that he auditioned for the part of Joseph in a school nativity play, but only received the part of a sheep. However, he told his mother he was playing Joseph, but had to confess eventually that he was playing the sheep, saying he swapped with the boy who was playing the sheep 'because his pet sheep died and he felt upset.' Rick has also indicated he was bullied at school for his name, Richard Shaw, (rickshaw), which led to him becoming a comedian, and choosing his stage name. He lives with his partner, Mel, a talent agent, and together they have a teenage daughter, Sam.

Rick often struggles to get decent gigs, and earns an income through hosting numerous corporate events, such as a Frozen Goods Awards Evening. He occasionally recieves negative fallout from these gigs, such as his gig for a pharmaceutical company in which a series of ill-advised jokes cause a panic on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, depreciating the company's stock price by 60 million pounds and leading to it's eventual bankruptcy and a five-year delay in tests for a cure for HIV. He becomes frequently depressed and despondent over the moribund nature of his professional life, and this manifests itself through his frustrations with his home and personal life.

Rick is increasingly short-tempered and stubborn, and this often leads him to resent and distrust tradesmen and service professionals, such as plumbers and electricians, and he attempts to circumvent them by performing a task himself. Rick also possesses negative or hostile opinions towards people with whom he is at odds with, or disagrees with. He is further annoyed when, in times when he insults people, such as Magda or Michael, Marty supports them rather than Rick.

Rick also has a tendency to take credit for other peoples' work, such as in the episode "Fatty" Rick instructs Magda to return a lost cat and then keeps the reward. He is also frequently rude to Magda, and constantly corrects her mispronounciation of English words, such as "unhappy" and "sell." Also, despite claiming to despise petty people, Rick, in the first two episodes of Series Three, displays this emotion when Magda comes to live with them, complaining when she makes noise, puts her own food in the fridge, and attaches a fridge magnet to it.

Rick is also constantly irritated by the actions of his daughter, Sam, her boyfriend Ben, and Michael, the local cafe owner who has befriended Rick, (although the latter does not return the sentiment.) Michael's eagerness and exuberance to be involved in or have knowledge of details relating to Rick's professional and personal life often annoy him, leading him to utter the oft-heard phrase 'I really wouldn't bother.' Additionally, Ben and Sam annoy Rick by asking him for money, usually 40-50 pounds, which is implicitly used to purchase recreational drugs. The use of these funds never raises Rick's suspicion, rather, he is annoyed at having to 'fork out' to pay for their pursuits.