399:) – Jean is Ken's mother and is often seen as imposing and manipulative. She seldom leaves her chair and is usually eating something sweet. She often complains about the greed and laziness of others, despite not being able to work her own kettle. Although she imposes on Ken's life and sometimes twists his words around to make people feel sorry for her, she really does care about her son. She shows disapproval about the mutual attraction that Ken and Tanya share, thinking Tanya is not good enough for her son but quickly changes her opinion when she finds out Tanya lives in a large house with a
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374:) – A boring, simple minded but well-meaning couple. Eddie's conversations with Ken are usually one-sided and often revolve around temporary traffic lights nearby, a topic that interests him but no one else. Joan's mother is very old and owns several pets including six cats, a dog and a tortoise. Joan and Eddie are both quite intellectually challenged and they often make pointless conversation. They still seem to be madly in love after nineteen years of marriage.
422:) – Ken's stepdaughter and only child. Melanie is doted on by Ken who hopes she will not leave him for her real dad, Keith Braithwaite, who she searched for after learning Ken was not her real father. Melanie sees Ken as her real dad, although she does sometimes exploit his "soft" attitude towards her working hours and free drinks. Her biological father, Keith, starts a fight with Eddie at her 21st birthday. She has had two boyfriends in the series
726:
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308:, pubs in England closed in the afternoon. Most are now open all day. It is also widely heard in British football circles and was resuscitated in comments about football. The phrase originates in the practice of British theatres from around 1870 of allowing customers who paid a little extra to enter the theatre early and choose their own seats to beat the rush just before the performance started.
325:, and lives in the flat upstairs with mother Jean and stepdaughter Melanie. Ken is usually sarcastic and has been shown at times to be slightly crooked, once looking at the results for the football cards, taking forged money from his police friends and putting a very small amount of charity money into his till. Despite these attributes he is consistently shown to be kind-hearted and sensitive.
392:) – Part-time barmaid and love interest of Ken. She is best friends with Debbie. She is good-hearted and down to earth and is known for being attractive, which is why it may be surprising that she clearly has feelings for Ken. Halfway through series 2 she informs Ken that she is leaving the pub but in the last episode he asks her to stay and she accepts his offer.
381:) – A miserable widower who seems to dislike the regulars and has no problem expressing his complaints (of which he has many). In series 2, he starts a new job which he tells the other regulars he hates because of the "buggers he works with". As he finishes his drink and prepares to leave, it is revealed he is a
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Winnie Cooper (Joan
Kempson) – Cleaner of The Grapes and the upstairs flat, friends with Jean and well-liked by the regulars. She often makes comments that she knows will irritate Jean and shares all sorts of gossip with her. She has a son called Darren who has been in trouble several times with the
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together. In the last episode, they seemed to have turned to drug dealing, while doing the odd bit of police work on the side. Best known for their parting expression: 'Crime can't crack itself'. Whenever Phil and Nige are leaving the pub, their police radios crackle a message in the phonetic
443:. She has cheated on her husband and has "gone with" Duffy rather than walk home. Debbie is possibly not the best mother, behaving neglectfully yet strictly towards her children. She seems to take a liking to Melanie's biological father Keith Braithwate (at least after a few drinks).
466:
chaser. Phil and Nige often break the law, having stolen from an electrical store that was being robbed and are shown to be recreational drug users. In the second series they seem to lose any faith they had in their work after bungling a raid by falling asleep and are often smoking
385:. In the same episode he is shown to be generous when it matters, when he refuses to take his winnings from the football card, instead putting it into a fund to pay off Eddie and Joan's phone bill when it is cut off due to Joan running up a bill through phoning her ill mother.
479:) – Melanie's biological father. He is discussed several times in both series but does not appear until the final episode of series 2 when it is Melanie's 21st birthday party. Keith has a very brash personality and regularly uses the catch-phrase "Tick, Tock". Jean sings "
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It was said that the show would bring back almost all of the original cast from the TV series, including pub landlord Ken, played by John
Henshaw, 13 years on, reflecting many of the changes in the pub world – most noticeably, the
436:) – Mel's boyfriend in Series 2. Dean seems to be liked by Ken and is a typical jack the lad type who gets on well with most if not all of the regulars. It is loosely implied on some occasions that Joan may have feelings for Dean.
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after dedicating it to Ken, "who has been there all
Melanie's life, not just one night". He becomes upset by this comment and tries to pick a fight with Eddie in the toilets but Ken intervenes and punches him, knocking him
650:. Returning cast from the TV series included John Henshaw as Ken, Phil Mealey as Duffy, Craig Cash as Joe, Susan Cookson as Tanya, Lisa Millett as Debbie, Joan Kempson as Winnie, and James Quinn and
336:), real name Nigel – "The Lads" of the pub. Best mates Joe and Duffy's friendship goes back to their childhood. Duffy has children and has been in trouble with his wife for sleeping with other women.
304:
phrase meaning those who arrive earlier than is customary and was often associated with pub customers who wait for or arrive soon after evening opening, around 5:30 p.m. Until the
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alphabet sounding like a random police radio message, but it is usually a profanity or swear word spelled phonetically, 'Foxtrot
Uniform Charley Kilo' being one of many examples.
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Despite the first series averaging just 1.7 million viewers, it was said to have "scored particularly highly on the appreciation indices". It was noted that BBC Two controller,
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The show is centred on a pub landlord named Ken, his preoccupation with his step-daughter
Melanie, who is preparing to meet her real father and his nervous relationship with
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The series has no laughter track which was unusual for sitcoms at time. There is little diegetic music but the pub regulars often spontaneously sing to each other, such as "
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Nicola (Sue McArdle) – Appears in 3 episodes of series 2. She is Debbie's cousin and has a sexual encounter in the toilets with Joe in the final episode of series 2.
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CityLife Award for Best
Theatre Production. It was soon followed by the announcement that the live stage show would be returning to The Lowry in the summer of 2019.
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699:, wrote that the series was "such a slow-burning comedy that you only start to smile during the next programme." The show was placed at No. 91 in the 2003–04
429:) – a student, Mel's boyfriend in Series 1. Liam is Scottish and is often seen smoking. Several jokes are made about the impressive size of his genitalia.
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of a newborn baby, Calvin, who she brings into the pub in the first episode and asks Joe and Duffy to mind while she goes to
Melanie's
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Millett) – Pub regular and good friend to Tanya. She often leaves her kids in the car while she goes in for half a
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904:"Blue Murder | Coronation Street | Dispatches | Early Doors | Jack Dee Live at the Apollo | Media"
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law usually for theft. On the DVD commentary for series 1 it's stated that Winnie is the first name of
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doorway. Joe often teases Duffy about this but Duffy says he took precautions – "I told her I'd had
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Episode 5 – Joan and Eddie celebrate their wedding anniversary.
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Episode 4 – There is a dispute over the football cards game.
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Episode 1 – Phil and Nige sell Ken some forged banknotes.
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Episode 1 – This episode introduces the main characters.
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Episode 5 – Duffy and Joe discuss their personal lives.
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Episode 3 – Melanie and Liam's relationship develops.
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902:Banks-Smith, Nancy (14 September 2004).
642:in August 2018, before a UK arena tour.
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501:Bill Cooper – Winnie's Husband (
805:Bourne, Dianne (29 July 2018).
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238:is set at The Grapes, a small
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608:Who Killed the British Sitcom
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781:"Early Doors Live 2018"
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732:United Kingdom portal
705:poll run by the BBC.
702:Britain's Best Sitcom
366:Eddie and Joan Bell (
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666:and Laura Woodward.
593:from the 2002 album
266:humour displayed in
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510:Series and Episodes
475:Keith Braithwaite (
420:Christine Bottomley
862:. 29 January 2019.
842:. 29 January 2019.
785:Earlydoorslive.com
757:Worldwidewords.org
312:Regular characters
306:Licensing Act 1988
278:Greater Manchester
165:Production company
834:"CityLife Awards"
718:Television portal
691:Nancy Banks-Smith
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652:Peter Wight
648:smoking ban
628:Phil Mealey
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585:Theme music
448:Peter Wight
434:Lee Ingleby
413:Phil Mealey
368:Mark Benton
334:Phil Mealey
317:Ken Dixon (
288:factory in
236:Early Doors
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226:written by
216:Early Doors
191:12 May 2003
144:of episodes
100:Roddy Frame
78:Mark Benton
62:Phil Mealey
48:Phil Mealey
25:Early Doors
988:Categories
952:BBC Online
941:BBC Online
916:7 December
887:7 December
818:1 December
790:1 December
762:7 December
739:References
664:Neil Hurst
624:Craig Cash
569:Production
450:) – Local
415:'s mother.
407:'s mother.
405:Craig Cash
330:Craig Cash
323:The Grapes
228:Craig Cash
205:2004-10-18
195:2003-05-12
160:30 minutes
152:Production
58:Craig Cash
44:Craig Cash
40:Written by
687:Jane Root
681:Reception
636:The Lowry
604:Channel 4
602:The 2006
469:marijuana
357:Ladbrokes
286:McVitie's
248:Stockport
133:of series
912:. London
883:. London
673:won the
579:Sex Bomb
553:pub quiz
540:Series 2
515:Series 1
397:Rita May
361:the snip
349:aerobics
339:Janice (
284:and the
264:Northern
74:Rita May
54:Starring
640:Salford
485:karaoke
388:Tanya (
377:Tommy (
282:Reddish
260:barmaid
254:Premise
203: (
199: –
193: (
188:Release
182:BBC Two
178:Network
125:English
481:Angels
464:brandy
456:bitter
432:Dean (
425:Liam (
224:sitcom
460:cigar
441:cider
328:Joe (
296:Title
219:is a
979:IMDb
918:2015
889:2015
820:2018
792:2018
764:2015
626:and
596:Surf
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