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Episode 1.5 - School Of Hard Knocks

Jimmy and Alex bond through vandalism.

In-Depth Episode Synopsis

Warning: the below synopsis may contain spoilers

When Alex's teacher writes home to say that "Alex is possibly gifted but we'll never know because he has the attention span of a gnat," Jimmy, surprised by this comment about his son, latches onto the "gifted" part while Diana's focus is on Alex's "not living up to his potential".

Molly is delighted that Alex is given all this attention which gives her the chance to fly under the radar and do what she wants for a while. In an attempt to get to know his brilliant son better, Jimmy enlists his help to finally finish his DIY in the back room only to discover how unfocused Alex really is.

When Alex tells Jimmy, "I don't want to make anything of my life: I want to be like you," Jimmy is forced to re-evaluate himself and comes to the frightening conclusion that maybe he would have benefited from someone like Diana in his life to motivate him. Diana runs with this notion and in the process, runs Jimmy into the ground.

Meanwhile Siobhan and Kev commiserate about the amount of time Jimmy is spending with his family leaving them both feeling like spurned lovers.

First Broadcast Details

Date:
Fri 9th February 2007
Time:
20.30
Channel:
BBC One
Length:
30 minutes

Episode 1.5 Cast & Crew

Regular Cast
Nicholas Lyndhurst ... Jimmy Venables
Celia Imrie ... Diana Neal
Ryan Sampson ... Alex Venables
Dani Harmer ... Molly Venables
Amanda Abbington ... Siobhan Casey
Lee Oakes ... Kev
Vincent Ebrahim ... Bobby
Guest Cast
Roxanne Ricketts ... Ellie
Writing Team
Katie Douglas ... Writer
Andrea Solomons ... Writer
Dan Tetsell ... Writer
Fred Barron ... Writer
Production Team
Tony Dow ... Director
Rosemary McGowan ... Producer
Kenton Allen ... Exec Producer
Ian Brown ... Exec Producer
James Hendrie ... Exec Producer
Harry Banks ... Production Design
Jamie Cullum ... Composer
Mark Wybourn ... Editor