All three series of the BBC radio sitcom about a fraudster dad on parole - plus pilot episode The Beginning

'Well crafted, well acted, with the requisite level of nuttiness' - Miranda Sawyer, The Observer

Ex-con Bob has done his time. After five years at Her Majesty's pleasure, he's been released on licence with an ankle tag registered to his estranged son's address. Uptight Gruff isn't too happy about it - he's just become a father himself, and the last thing he needs is his delinquent dad back in his life. But Bob turns on the charm, persuading sympathetic daughter-in-law Alice that his heart's in the right place, and manages to inveigle his way into moving in.

These three series find him getting back on the dating scene, landing a job as a bingo caller, catching up with an old acquaintance from C Wing and reconnecting with a long-lost family member. Meanwhile, Gruff is delighted when he's commissioned to write an article about smoothies, Alice bonds with Bob over ape-based reality show Monkey World, Gruff and Alice decide to get daughter Carys baptised and Alice's mum has a new boyfriend - but Bob is suspicious. Can he use his expert knowledge of the Falklands War to prove that Jeffrey's a conman?

Scripted by acclaimed comedy writers Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge, this quirky, warm-hearted sitcom stars Steve Speirs as Bob, with Elis James as Gruff and Katy Wix and Margaret Cabourn-Smith as Alice. Among the guest stars are Morwenna Banks, Neil Pearson, Felicity Montagu and Ben Willbond.

Please note: content has been updated as of January 2021

Credits
Published by Penguin Random House Ltd
Licensed by BBC Studios Distribution Ltd


Production credits
Written by Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge
Produced by Victoria Lloyd (Pilot and Series 1 & 2) and Adnan Ahmed (Series 3)
Sound Designer: David Thomas
Production Co-Ordinator: Gwyn Davies
A BBC Studios Production

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 November 2015 ('The Beginning'), 30 August-13 September 2017 (Series 1), 31 October-21 November 2018 (Series 2), 28 May-2 July 2020 (Series 3)

Cast
Gruff - Elis James
Alice - Katy Wix/Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Bob - Steve Speirs
Linda/Mariella - Gemma Whelan
David/Terry - Oliver Maltman
Pam - Vivienne Acheampong/Anna Brophy Leon
Chris/Trevor/Monkey World announcer - Jason Forbes
Ruth/Ruby - Shola Adewusi
Margaret/Ena - Morwenna Banks
Keith/Father Mike/Anthony - Mike Wozniak
Richard Flint - Neil Pearson
Tabitha/Receptionist - Adelayo Adedayo
Hakan/Canteen Guy - Naz Osmanoglu
Lauren - Ruth Bratt
Nappy advert v/o - Anna Leong Brophy
Jeffrey - Simon Greenall
Elaine - Felicity Montagu
Graham- Ben Willbond
Cash and Carry Worker/Sara- Vivienne Acheampong
Rashid - Phaldut Sharma
Harry - Owen Money
Anna - Sally Tatum
Nicholas - Tom Crowley
Joanna - Emily Lloyd-Saini
Zara - Chiara Goldsmith
Simon - Jordan Brookes
Bailiff - Sanjeev Kohli
Darren - Kevin Eldon
Cashier - Emma Sidi
Rich - Jon Pointing
Megan - Gabby Best
Ian - Marek Larwood
Monica - Amy Gledhill
Quentin - Robert Bathurst
Roz - Julia Deakin
Shirley - Gbemisola Ikumelo
Barbara - Ruth Madoc
Derek - Joseph Marcell