Friday Night Dinner Main and Returning Characters

10 June 2014

MAIN CHARACTERS

Mum (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 settle down, and is delighted when he finally brings home a girl for dinner.


Dad (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 (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. In this series, though, Adam finally brings a 'female' home for dinner...

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

Jonny (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.

Jonny is definitely cooler than Adam, but that's not saying much.

Jim (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 swallows Wilson's sleeping pills and sleepwalks around the Goodman's house.

 

RETURNING CHARACTERS

Grandma (Frances Cuka)

80 year old Nellie is adored by the family. A bubbly lady, she loves a glass of sherry, loves the boys, and loves getting her hair done. However, she can be a bit of a stirrer, and tensions exist between her and her daughter, Jackie (Mum).

Tensions arise when grandma gets back with Mr Morris - her horrible 'male friend' from series 2. Then things get worse when he proposes, and Grandma says 'yes'.

Grandma appears in  EP 3 (THE ANNIVERSARY), Ep 3 (MR MORRIS RETURNS) and Ep 6 (THE BIG DAY)


Val (Tracy-Ann Oberman)

Mum's best friend - or 'Aunty Val' to the boys - is back. Warm and chatty, Val is mum's confidant, particularly when Dad has upset mum. Val dresses like mum, talks like mum - and to the boys - is exactly as annoying as mum. In fact, when Val's around, it's like having two mums in the house.

Val appears in EP 2 (THE FOX), EP 5 (THE PIANO) and EP 6 (THE BIG DAY)