The Nanny/Characters

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Main Cast (in order of billing):

Francine "Fran" Fine (Fran Drescher)

Maxwell Sheffield (Baron Charles Shaughnessy)

Niles (Daniel Davis)

  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: With C.C.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Fake Brit: Daniel Davis is actually from Arkansas, but his accent is so good that when the show premiered in the UK, viewers thought that he should help Charles Shaughnessy (an actual Londoner) with his accent.
    • Not just a Londoner, an honest-to-God Lord (he is the 5th Baron Shaughnessy).
  • The Jeeves
  • Legacy of Service: His father was the Sheffield butler before he was.
  • Only One Name: "It's just Niles. Like Cher.".
  • Platonic Life Partners: With Fran.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He delivers one to C.C. after she begins mocking him for thinking he had a chance with her. Niles lays into her that at least he is trying to move on from his rejection, whereas she's spent a good chunk of her life chasing after a man (Maxwell) who has no interest in her and never will, and is still chasing after him even though he's now married and is having a child with his new wife. The thing is, rather than give a snappy comeback, this really hits C.C. where it hurts and she decides to resign from being Maxwell's partner. She doesn't, and C.C. and Niles really do get together.
  • Screwy Squirrel: He's at his happiest tormenting C.C. with tricks and pranks.
  • Servile Snarker
  • Shipper on Deck: For Fran and Maxwell.

C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane)

Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield (Nicholle Tom)

Brighton Sheffield (Benjamin Salisbury)

Gracie Sheffield (Madeline Zima)

  • Daddy's Girl
  • Out of Focus: Seasons 3-6, probably to make room for Fran's growing romance with Maxwell, and more storylines involving Val, Sylvia, and Yetta (and possibly due to the fact that Madeline Zima was the only one still under age and subject to child labor laws.)
  • She's All Grown Up: Towards the end of the series.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years

Recurring Characters:

Sylvia Rosenberg-Fine (Renee Taylor)

  • Big Eater
  • Characterization Marches On: In an early episode, she actually took in the entire main cast during a blizzard and kept all of them well-fed. Later on, she was quick to snatch up any food someone else was about to sink their teeth into.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Jewish Mother
  • My Beloved Smother
  • No Indoor Voice
  • Shipper on Deck: For Fran and Maxwell.
    • To be fair though, playing a stereotypical Jewish Mother who's daughter is over 30, Sylvia would ship Fran with just about anyone. Fran even commented once that her mother would have been thrilled with her hooking up with a successful, profressional woman if not for the fact said lesbian wasn't Jewish.

Grandma Yetta Rosenberg (Ann Morgan Guilbert)

Val Toriello (Rachel Chagall)

  • Dumb Blonde: As Fran puts it, "Val wasn't short for 'valedictorian'.".
  • Fake Nationality: Rachel Chagall is also Jewish, but plays an Italian-American.
  • Hide Your Pregnancy: TWICE! But since Rachel Chagall didn't have top billing it was much easier to hide her pregnancies and have her disappear for a while during maternity leave.

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