The Meldrews return from their holiday to find that their baggage has been sent to the other side of the world. Their house has also been demolished after it was badly damaged by fire. Six months later, they move into a new house and hold a housewarming party. The show used Bournemouth to film some exterior sequences because of its favourable climate, easy access to London and economical benefits relative to filming in the capital. After the first series was filmed, the house—near Pokesdown, Bournemouth—which had been used for the Meldrews' house in location sequences, changed hands and the new owners demanded nearly triple the usage fees that the previous owners had asked for. Rather than agree to this, the production team decided to find a new house and the first episode of the second series was rewritten to have the Meldrews' house destroyed in a fire (this was filmed on waste ground in Northcote Road, Springbourne). This also gave the opportunity for a new interior set to be designed, as Belbin had been unhappy with the original set designed for the series, which she felt was too restrictive to shoot in. [15] Patterson, Johno (13 December 2013). "10 Dark British Comedy TV Shows That Must Be Seen". WhatCulture.com . Retrieved 30 April 2020. Margaret is pleased when Victor takes up painting — until she discovers that he has been painting a nude model named Doreen ( Gillian Barge) and driving her home afterwards. Rather unfairly, Margaret insists that Victor is having an affair despite what he says. This episode is set entirely in the Meldrews' bedroom and features the only mention of their late son, Stuart.

In the waiting room of their solicitor's office, where Victor is to draw up his will, he and Margaret muse about their life, and Victor assaults a dog owner with a cake. Margaret reminds Victor that it was 37 years ago to the day that they first had sex together. She tells him that it happened at an engagement party and that she thought he was someone else. He tells her that she was his first choice of partner. Some of the episodes did not feature the regular intro with the tortoise, such as "The Trial", "One Foot in the Algarve", "Rearranging the Dust", "The Wisdom of the Witch", "Starbound", "Endgame" and "Threatening Weather". Mrs Birkett ( Gabrielle Blunt) An elderly neighbour in the first series. She accidentally gets trapped in the Meldrews' loft when Victor closes the trap door whilst she is up there looking for jumble that Margaret has prepared. She continues to be mentioned throughout the rest of the series but is not seen again. Despite Margaret's frequent exasperation with her husband's antics, the series shows the couple have a deep affection for one another. When clearing out their loft in preparation for conversion, Victor discovers and restores a Dutch marionette, which makes Margaret jealous, so she microwaves it.Before the Meldrews can leave for their holiday in Athens, they must cope with Victor's fear of flying and Mrs Warboys' food poisoning.

In April 2023, Channel 5 aired a 67-minute special retrospective for their "Comedy Classics" series. Cast, crew and celebrities discuss and pay tribute to the show. The documentary features an interview with Wilson, sharing his memories of the show, along with other cast members Doreen Mantle, who was 96 at the time, Angus Deayton, as well as director Christine Gernon. [49] VHS and DVD releases [ edit ]Over the show's history, it featured a number of notable comic actors in one-off roles. These include Susie Blake, John Bird, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Peter Cook, Diana Coupland, Phil Daniels, Edward de Souza, Hannah Gordon, Georgina Hale, Roy Hudd, Jimmy Jewel, Rula Lenska, Stephen Lewis, Paul Merton, Brian Murphy, Christopher Ryan, Jim Sweeney, Barbara Windsor, Joan Sims and Ray Winstone. Two of Angus Deayton's former Radio Active and KYTV co-stars, Geoffrey Perkins and Michael Fenton Stevens were cast, in separate episodes, as respectively the brother and brother-in-law of Deayton's character. A few actors little-known at the time also appeared in one-off roles before going on to greater fame, including Lucy Davis, Joanna Scanlan, Eamonn Walker and Arabella Weir. The Meldrews are on holiday, staying with old friends Vince ( Stephen Lewis) and April ( Georgina Hale) in their boarding house on the south coast. A series of misunderstandings leave the couple believing the other is being unfaithful. Cousin Wilfred (John Rutland) – Mrs. Warboys' cousin Wilfred, first appeared in an episode in the third series. In the final series the character returned, but the effects of a stroke had rendered him mute and forced him to "speak" with the aid of an electronic voice generator. His poor typing on the generator led to several misunderstandings, such as asking Victor for a "bra of soup" (as opposed to a "bar of soap") and describing a visit to his "brothel" (as opposed to "brother"). When Cousin Ursula dies, Victor and Margaret must clear out her country house; before they go, a witch predicts an untimely end for Victor.

A young female window cleaner accuses Victor of flashing her when, through his bathroom window, she sees him naked and drying his genitals with a flannel. While organising their new house, the Meldrews are entrusted to look after Margaret's goddaughter's tortoise, who walks into a pile of garden rubbish which Victor burns. Margaret douses the tortoise in cold water when she realises that it has been burnt, but it has died. Victor informs their goddaughter's mother of the tortoise's death; unaware of this, Margaret buys a new tortoise for her. The mother thinks the tortoise in the box they receive is the dead one and buries it alive. Meanwhile, the wallpaper is stripped in the Meldrews' new home. In 2004, One Foot in the Grave came tenth in a BBC poll to find " Britain's Best Sitcom" with 31,410 votes. [23] The programme also came 80th in the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. [4] Award list

Credits

The Meldrew's loft is converted by identical twin builders ( Christopher Ryan), one of whom plays pranks on Margaret in which he pretends to be injured. One Foot in the Grave: Series 1-6 (hmv Exclusive)". hmv.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023 . Retrieved 3 July 2023.