Not Going Out
- TV sitcom
- BBC One
- 2006 - 2025
- 106 episodes (14 series)
Fast-paced, gag-packed studio sitcom starring Lee Mack and Sally Bretton. Also features Hugh Dennis, Abigail Cruttenden, Geoffrey Whitehead, Deborah Grant, Bobby Ball and more.
- Catch-up on Series 14, Episode 5
Streaming rank this week: 218
Episode menu
Series 8, Episode 1 - Romance
Further details
Viewers last saw Lee and Lucy as a newlywed couple just having their first baby. Fast-forward seven years and baby Charlie now has five year-old twin siblings, Benji and Molly. How has layabout Lee survived these dramatic life-changes? How do the not-so-new parents find the joy/relentless onslaught of bringing up kids?
If this wasn't enough for them to contend with, combine it with negotiating some tricky family members in the form of lovably feckless father Frank, always on hand with the terrifying offer of childcare, and close friends including the world-weary, or more specifically wife-weary Toby and uptight ice-queen Anna. At least Lucy's more dependable parents are on hand, but what exactly do Geoffrey and Wendy make of Lee and Lucy's often mad house?
What could possibly go wrong with: Lee doing his best to get the 'romance' back on track; Frank finally getting his wish to babysit the kids; Lucy and Lee loading up the car for a family holiday to France; Lee devising a 'brilliant' master-plan involving Emma Bunton and a hot tub; one of the kids, very worryingly, starting to take after one of their parents (clue, it isn't Lucy); marriage guidance making its way onto the couple's agenda; and a decision to be made whether three kids really are enough.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Friday 13th January 2017
- Time
- 9pm
- Channel
- BBC One
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Lee Mack | Lee |
| Sally Bretton | Lucy |
| Hugh Dennis | Toby |
| Geoffrey Whitehead | Geoffrey |
| Deborah Grant | Wendy |
| Francesca Newman | Molly |
| Max Pattison | Benji |
| Finley Southby | Charlie |
| Lee Mack | Writer |
| Daniel Peak | Writer |
| Simon Evans | Writer (Additional Material) |
| Paul Kerensa | Writer (Additional Material) |
| Simon Griffiths | Writer (Additional Material) |
| Liam Woodman | Writer (Additional Material) |
| Sarah Morgan | Writer (Additional Material) |
| Nick Wood | Director |
| Jamie Rix | Producer |
| Richard Allen-Turner | Executive Producer |
| Lee Mack | Executive Producer |
| Jon Thoday | Executive Producer |
| Rob Aslett | Executive Producer |
| Richard Halladay (as Richard Halladey) | Editor |
| James Dillon | Production Designer |
| Tracey Gillham | Casting Director |
| Leah Archer | Costume Designer |
| Carlene Gearing | Make-up Designer |
| Martin Kempton | Lighting Designer |
| Steve Brown | Composer |
| Alex Hardcastle | Composer |
| Roger Planer | Composer |
| John McBurnie | Composer |
| Gregor Sharp | Commissioning Editor |
Video
Awkward anniversary dinner
Worried that their relationship has lost it's romance, Lee does something extra special for Lucy on an important date.
Featuring: Lee Mack (Lee) & Sally Bretton (Lucy).
Press
Lee Mack's comedy has bounded forward seven years: Lee and Lucy now have three kids and a classic family sitcom set-up - stairs at the back, front door on the left, through-kitchen on the right - and jokes about how annoyed they are by each other's habits. As they spar over who's responsible for the lost romance, the relentless wisecracking style makes the ensuing screwball battle veer close to unpleasant bitterness. Still plenty of great gags, though.
Jack Seale, The Guardian, 13th January 2017Interview: Lee Mack on Not Going Out
Lee Mack confesses he's reached the age where he can usually be found beavering away in his garden shed. But you won't find him, like a lot of men approaching 50, repotting the begonias or pretending to tinker with the lawn mower. Mack's shed is where he spends hours writing the BBC1 sitcom Not Going Out, which returns on Friday for its eighth series in ten years.
Graham Wray, Radio Times, 13th January 2017Not Going Out series 8 preview
Not Going Out isn't the sort of emotive, appointment-to-view comedy that so many artistically motivated comics are making. But the rarity of being a light sitcom that's dependably funny thanks to script and character - not the dated, grating extravagance of the likes of Citizen Khan or Mrs Brown's Boys - is quite the achievement. No wonder it's future is assured. The day Not Going Out is not going out on TV is a long way off.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 13th January 2017Preview - Not Going Out
I've always enjoyed Not Going Out - probably because I like Lee Mack, so the return of the series was met with trumpets and fanfare at Chez Hargreaves. But that was before I realised that the new series includes kids.
Gareth Hargreaves, On The Box, 13th January 2017TV preview: Not Going Out, BBC1
Has Lee Mack become a time traveller? In the new series of Not Going Out he suddenly has three children, all around primary/infant school age, whereas a year ago he had only just become a father for the first time. Apparently the new series of Not Going Out is set seven years on. But don't expect any hoverboards or meals served in pill form. This is about as traditional and old-fashioned as sitcoms get.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 12th January 2017