The characters

25 September 2012

Mum (played by Tamsin Greig)

A grown up lady with a teenage sense of humour, Jackie Goodman is funny, fiery and occasionally a bit saucy. She's always the first to enthuse about something, but also the first to get annoyed. Mum adores her boys and fusses over them. In fact, she still cuts Jonny's toenails.

Mum loves having a natter with her best friend, Val (who has the same hair) - but most of all she loves her family.  She'd also love her eldest son, Adam, to hurry up and find a girlfriend.

 

Dad (played by Paul Ritter)

When men reach the age of 50, they generally go a bit odd. Martin Goodman is definitely a bit odd. Fond of not wearing a top inside - or outside - the house, dad is a true one-off. He likes drinking ketchup straight from the bottle, and has been known to snaffle the odd piece of toast straight from the bin. Dad is hard-of-hearing and wears a hearing aid, and definitely uses his deafness to get out of scrapes with Mum.

Whenever dad hurts himself he can be heard shouting the phrase, "Shit on it!".

 

Adam (played by Simon Bird)

Adam is the older brother. He's in his mid 20s and is trying to forge a career as a musician. At the moment, though, he's been forced to try his luck as a jingle writer for commercials. But he hasn't had much luck.

Adam's single, and mum and dad constantly ask him about his relationship status. "Any females?", asks dad most weeks, and even, "Maybe you should consider other options...like divorcees, or widows".

Adam quite likes going home for Friday night dinner, but would be quite happy leaving after about four minutes.

 

Jonny (played by Tom Rosenthal)

Jonny is the younger brother. He's in his early 20s and works as an estate agent. Compared to his "failed musician" brother, he has "a proper job". Jonny's cheeky and mischievous. In fact, he's a massive wind-up merchant.

In series 2, Jonny starts going out with his boss, Liz, who is 43 ("She's old enough to be your grandmother," says Adam).  Jonny is definitely cooler than Adam, but that's not saying much.

 

Jim (played by Mark Heap)

Jim is the Goodman's neighbour, and quite possibly the only man in the world who's terrified of his own dog. Jim's dog is called Wilson, and Jim is never seen anywhere without him.

As ever, Jim always manages to interrupt Friday night dinner.  Once again, he's still obsessed with mum ("You look nice, Jackie"). In this series, Jim goes on a date with a lady ("Where did you meet this lady?'" asks mum. "In a yellowish room."); gets blind drunk on Wilson's birthday; and finally gets to come for Friday night dinner.

We also see Jim speaking fluent Chinese...