1 9 9 3 (UK)
6 x 30 minute episodes
1 9 9 5 (UK)
6 x 30 minute episodes
Written by Steven Moffat (based on his recent separation from his first wife), this BAFTA award-winning BBC2 comedy series premiered on 7 January 1993 (following a half-hour pilot in July 1991) and starred Robert Bathurst as sad-sack television comedy writer Mark Taylor, who couldn’t resist peppering every conversation with punchlines – which ultimately destroyed his marriage.
Mark’s brief, bittersweet marriage to sharp-tongued Becky Johnson (Fiona Gillies) provided most of his material with episodes in the first series recalling the key moments of their relationship, from their meeting at Becky’s father’s funeral to their eventual break-up at a surprise birthday party.
Each episode opened with Mark apparently performing stand-up comedy in a small comedy club. These performances were, in fact, fantasy sequences playing out in his mind.
The second series (airing from 3 January 1995) picked up Mark’s story two years after their divorce and related his struggle to cope as a single man.
Other regular characters included Mark and Becky’s mutual best friends, Tracy and Robert Glazebrook (Tracie Bennett and Paul Raffield) and Becky’s new estate agent boyfriend, Trevor (Paul Mark Elliott).
Mark Taylor
Robert Bathurst Becky Johnson
Fiona Gillies Tracy Glazebrook
Tracie Bennett Robert Glazebrook
Paul Raffield Trevor
Paul Mark Elliott
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Mark’s brief, bittersweet marriage to sharp-tongued Becky Johnson (Fiona Gillies) provided most of his material with episodes in the first series recalling the key moments of their relationship, from their meeting at Becky’s father’s funeral to their eventual break-up at a surprise birthday party.
Other regular characters included Mark and Becky’s mutual best friends, Tracy and Robert Glazebrook (Tracie Bennett and Paul Raffield) and Becky’s new estate agent boyfriend, Trevor (Paul Mark Elliott).
