Keith Barret's surname was influenced by singer Shakin' Stevens. Rob Brydon is a fan of his fellow countryman and so decided to borrow his real last name for Keith.

Steve Coogan worked as executive producer on the show due to his involvement with Baby Cow Productions and thus was an obvious choice to play the role of Geoff.

This marked the first occasion that Brydon and Coogan had appeared together. Since then however, they have starred alongside each other on several occasions in I'm Alan Partridge, Cruise of the Gods and A Cock and Bull Story.

Brydon first met Mark Benton in a drama group which Julia Davis also attended. They first appeared together in Human Remains and teamed up again here.