Phoebe is a recurring character in the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso, and Roy Kent's niece. At the beginning of the series, she is approximately six to eight years old and a student at Richmond Primary School. Roy dotes on her a lot and has been taking care of his sister's daughter ever since Phoebe's father left the family.
Roy Kent's Niece[]
Ted Lasso asks Trent Crimm to come with him and Roy to go speak with school children about football and to promote AFC Richmond while giving back to the community of Richmond upon Thames. After a brief statement in the school assembly, Roy and Ted takes the students out the playground to engage in football related activities such as heading the ball. Phoebe who attends the school, causes Ted to have a nosebleed during this activity by propelling the ball into his face accidentally.
When Ted thanked Roy for being supportive and calls Phoebe as cutie-patootie, Roy gets angry about Ted's mind games and gifts and asks about 'A Wrinkle In Time' book that he got. Trent explains that it's a lovely novel about a young girl's struggle with the burden of leadership as she journeys through space. Roy angrily deduce that the little girl is supposed to be him, and he storms off with Phoebe, not before he told off Ted and calling Trent a prick. Roy ends up reading the book to her, and in the process realizing that the point Ted is trying to make with the gift is to be the leader of AFC Richmond team. Upon realizing it, he curses loudly but Phoebe reminds him that it's a bad word, which he tells her to mind her own business, but he kisses her goodnight anyway.
When Roy is upset after losing a match and there's a threat looming above him of being benched for the rest of the season, he takes Phoebe to Keeley Jones' house to talk about his problem. Roy is worried about the retirement and it will make him feel like a loser as playing football is his life and identity, and he doesn't want people to forget that about him. Keeley then asks Phoebe to describe her uncle while closing her eyes: she says that her uncle Roy has a scratchy beard, buys her ice cream, swears a lot, is really funny, and she loves him. Keeley points out that Phoebe doesn't even mentioned of Roy being a footballer, but he dismisses his niece for being young, which makes her roll her eyes.
The Coach's Niece[]
After Roy's retirement from Richmond, he's been coaching Phoebe's West London Under 9 Girls football team at Richmond Primary School. He's criticizing the children like adults by swearing left and right but at the same time encouraging them to play better; they all respond with a loud affirmative, showing that they idolize Roy as their coach. Phoebe's friend, Kokoruda is apparently a great football player (as indicated by the icepack on her head), despite her age and height.
Ms. Bowen reminds the coach that he shouldn't call the children a bunch of pricks, but it seems Phoebe and the rest of the team are used to it, and it doesn't bother them at all. Keeley picks up both Roy and Phoebe, and the three of them goes for some hot chocolates. Keeley asks about the match, and Phoebe admits that she got a red card for elbowing other girl in her neck, which Roy really proud about it. The adults are now discussing about the possibility of Roy accepting the pundit job on Sky Sports television channel as a part of Gillette Soccer Saturday panelist. While Roy is swearing up and down for making his point, Phoebe is counting how many curses her uncle said so she would get money he owed for cursing.
During the Richmond Primary School Football match, Phoebe's team lost the game, and her uncle is telling the girls that they should remember the lost and burn it to their brains. Phoebe asks for the trophies which a disappointed Roy handed the consolation trophies to the players and tell them they are all losing for nothing. Ms. Bowen once again reprimand the coach, and tells him that the important thing is that the coach cares about them. Roy begrudgingly tells the girls that it has been an honor coaching them and he hopes everyone would come back next year, but only if they fucking mean it. It prompts some giggles from Phoebe and her friends hearing their coach swears again at them.
Love, Actually[]
During Christmas, Keeley and Roy were supposed to spend some intimate time together, but he brings a distraught Phoebe to the house because her mother got called for surgery at the hospital. After a bit of cajoling, Phoebe admits that the reason she is been upset and sad for a week is because a boy at school has been mean to her. That angers Roy but Keeley encourages her to tell more of the story, so Phoebe tells them that a boy named Bernard gave her a package of toothpaste and mouthwash because her breath smells bad and he told everyone at school. Roy threatens to kill the boy and Keeley checks Phoebe's breath, which is actually really bad. Roy then sniff his niece's breath as well, and he almost faints from the smell.
Keeley deduces that the breath is not because Phoebe didn't brush her teeth, but because she probably has a medical problem. So Roy decides to take both Keeley and Phoebe around the neighborhood to find a dentist and fix the problem. If they can't find any dentist, he will give them each 1000 pounds. For the whole day and afternoon, the three of them are knocking each doors looking for a dentist - and they finally finds Dr. Rogers, a dentist, at her home. Dr. Rogers checks up on Phoebe and asks some questions, and she discovers that the reason why Phoebe's breath is so rancid is because of her new drug prescription of antihistamines she has taken because she just rescued a cat. Dr. Rogers explains that Antihistamines dry out the mouth, and when saliva production is reduced, then the environment for odor-producing bacteria thrives. Roy tells Phoebe to get rid of the cat which Phoebe refuses, Keeley promises that Dr. Rogers will find a solution for her bad breath. They end up at a pharmacy to buy a new medicine for Phoebe, and Roy also asks the pharmacist to bring them some poster board and markers.
The three of them visits Bernard's house, the boy who teased Phoebe. She tells Bernard who opens the door to say that it's the carol singers. Phoebe has written many things on the poster board that basically said: "Bernard, you hurt my feelings. Shame on you! A very nice dentist prescribed medicine that should fix my stinky breath in 48 and 72 hours. However, unless you make thoughtful amends, you will STINK FOREVER! And you'll have to deal with him and her --->" Bernard sees Roy glaring at him next to Phoebe and deterred. Phoebe continues that she basically forgive Bernard but he needs to do better, and then she wishes him a Merry Christmas. Bernard then apologizes to Phoebe, but she only gives her thumbs up and goes home with Roy and Keeley hand-in-hand.
Uncle's Influence[]
Ms. Bowen calls Roy to school because Phoebe's mother cannot make it, and to tell him that the reason why is due to Phoebe's behavior in school. The girl swears and curses a lot especially after she called a boy an "apathetic shitfucker" which doesn't bother Roy at all. The teacher then asks Roy whether he has any idea where she learned the swearing, but apparently he doesn't have a clue, but after seeing Ms. Bowen's face he realized that Phoebe learned it from him. He curses after learning that he influenced her, and because this is her fifth offense, Phoebe has to go home for the rest of the day. Phoebe apologizes to Ms. Bowen for her swearing and then asks her uncle whether they can get some ice cream, which he replies "Fuck, no!"
After getting ice cream anyway, Roy and Phoebe have a hearty discussion about her swearing. Roy tells her that she shouldn't swear especially when she wants to be a veterinarian for wild animals. He confesses that sometimes he's afraid that he has been infecting her with the worst parts of him, but Phoebe wisely says that he's done nothing but teach him great things. She swore to the boy because he bullied her, and because of her uncle, she is brave enough to stand up to bullies. She promise that she'd stop swearing and tells her uncle that she is good as the best of him. They promise to stop swearing together, although it might be harder for Roy.
When Roy is picking Phoebe from school in Midnight Train to Royston, he is surprised to find out that it's a half-day and everyone already went home, including his niece who was picked up by her mother. When he sees Ms. Bowen hanging the students' artworks, he asks for Phoebe's, but her teacher says that she won't be able to put her drawings on display. Curious, he looks at the drawings and is in shocked to see they are charcoal sketches of breasts. Roy then help Ms. Bowen decorate the classroom for the Parent Mixer, and they have a little chat about how Phoebe likes her teacher because she's a tough teacher. Ms Bowen then casually asks Roy whether he's married, and he answers no. Roy then pays for Phoebe's drawings and leave to a magazine photoshoot.
Notes[]
- Phoebe's mother works at the emergency room at a hospital but Roy also mentions that his sister is a surgeon.
- Roy claims that Phoebe's age is six, while Ms. Bowen says that her age is eight.
- Phoebe's father is a deadbeat “living piece of shit” dad, and Roy has been taking care of Phoebe when her mum can't.
- When the trio of Roy, Phoebe, and Keeley visits Bernard, they are doing a direct homage of the movie "Love, Actually" with the poster boards.