List of The League of Gentlemen Characters - Les McQueen

Les McQueen (Gatiss) is former rhythm-guitar player for 70s glam rock band Creme Brulée (and still has plenty of copies of two of their albums: Just Desserts and Another Helping). He now works in the hospital laundry, longing for the old days when he would walk into a Royston Vasey urinal and heads would turn. He constantly bothers other aspiring musicians he meets, boring them with tales of a now outdated and unfashionable music era. When they politely (or in some cases impolitely) ask him to leave them alone, he does so, stating sadly (as if he is trying to convince himself of it, rather than convince whoever he is talking to): "It's a shit business; I'm glad I'm out of it."

McQueen is one of the more 'normal' inhabitants of Royston Vasey (when compared to other much more bizarre characters such as Tubbs, Edward and Papa Lazarou), as well as one of the more tragic characters. As a result he evoked genuine sympathy from the audience. However, despite this, he's never given anything close to mercy by the writers, with things getting progressively worse for him. In his final appearance in Season 2 he's conned out of his redundancy package (which he was going to use to open a bar abroad) by the lead singer of Creme Brulée, in the hopes of reuniting the band. In the commentary on the DVD, the writers mention an alternative ending where the reunion actually happens and the band is a success. He makes a brief cameo appearance in Season 3 as the MC for the Little Miss Elegance Beauty Pageant.

In the live version of the show, he's introduced as just having had a major resurgence in his career, with a big record contract and a promising solo career. When he walks on stage he dances to the music before approaching the microphone and is fatally electrocuted. This is followed up in the second live tour, whereby he is waiting to audition for the "Commu-nativity". He talks about his career to a hooded teenager next to him—who turns out to be the Grim Reaper, waiting to lead the deceased Les McQueen to his afterlife.