After his wife falls off a trolley and dies, Uncle Mort (Robin Bailey, THE WHISPERERS) is looking forward to a life of freedom including nightly trips to the pub and playing bowls until his pushy sister Annie (Liz Smith, THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, AND HER LOVER) bullies him into moving in with her, her henpecked husband Les (John Comer, THERE'S A GIRL IN MY SOUP), their son Carter (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE's Stephen Rea for the first two series and A BRIDGE TOO FAR's Keith Drinkel for the remainder), and senile Uncle Stavely (Bert Palmer, A KIND OF LOVING) who is constantly underfoot like a neglected pet. A man of few words other than "Aye... well... mmm," Carter is bullied by his mother and would-be posh fiancee Pat (STILL CRAZY's Anita Carey for the first two series and Liz Goulding for the remainder) into something of a proposal. Content to live vicariously through Carter, Uncle Mort and Les would rather Carter end up with saucy Linda Preston (Deirdre Costello, THE ELEPHANT MAN) since she fits their image of an ideal woman ("a bloke with big knockers") rather than a life as a "young executive" living in a prefab housing unit. Over the course of four series, Pat trades barbs with Linda Preston while trying to mold her husband into an executive, Carter learns the pleasures of escaping to the pub, the idea of women's work is turned on its head when the men are made redundant (laid off), and Uncle Mort looks forward to sweet death but instead finds a mate with the "ghastly and horendous" Olive Scrimshaw (Diana Harker, LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE). Based on the series of books by Peter Tinniswood.