Not Going Out. Image shows from L to R: Lee (Lee Mack), Lucy (Sally Bretton). Copyright: Avalon Television / Arlo Productions
Not Going Out

Not Going Out

  • TV sitcom
  • BBC One
  • 2006 - 2023
  • 100 episodes (13 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.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 1,728

Press clippings Page 11

Lucy's strait-laced parents arrive from their local amateur dramatic group, and they need actors for a new production. It sounds terrible, with a villain described as an "evil, impotent, wart-ridden narcissist". Naturally Lee (Lee Mack) is everyone's first casting choice.

After too many so-so episodes Not Going Out slides back onto its well-worn tracks with an increased quotient of funny gags, though you'll see most of them telegraphed from about five miles away. Mack is great as he froths with jealousy at Lucy's insufferable leading man.

Alison Graham, Radio Times, 17th May 2013

The unashamed old-fashionedness of Not Going Out can be a virtue. This week, for instance, Lee finds himself clashing with a snooty waiter in a posh restaurant. Cue various simple-but-effective puns such as, Waiter: "Entrées?" Lee: "It's up to you how you carry them."

Lee also does a trying-the-wine routine that is pure Eric Morecambe. The trouble is the storyline propping up the comedy feels particularly tired and cartoony: Lee goes out on an unlikely date in the hope of making Lucy (the true object of his affections) jealous, but the woman he chooses turns out to be a relationship weirdo out of 1980s cliché. Luckily, Katy Wix keeps turning up in superhero costumes to lighten the load.

David Butcher, Radio Times, 10th May 2013

Good news: the wonderful Geoffrey Whitehead is back in the series. He plays the stern, disapproving father of Lee's flatmate Lucy, just as he played the stern disapproving father in Worst Week of My Life (which starred Ben Miller) - and every bit as well. It's a shame the script feels more strained than usual as Lucy (Sally Bretton) visits a trade conference to try to pick up new clients - "pick up" being, to Lee's horror, the name of the game.

How he tries to intervene before she can go too far and how that gets him into trouble with her parents leads us through an enjoyably old-fashioned farce. And Whitehead gets to say the line: "I used to box for Surrey, you know!" as only he can.

David Butcher, Radio Times, 3rd May 2013

Lee Mack's second BBC1 show of the night also features a welcome return for the brilliant Geoffrey Whitehead. With this and The Worst Week of My Life, he's definitely the go-to man every comedy should call on to play the stern, disapproving father.

Lucy's mum and dad are encouraging her to go to a trade conference to pick up some much-needed new clients, and as she's pretty desperate for work, she agrees. But when she lets slip to Lee that she's been using him as a fake husband in work situations, he turns up at the conference and scuppers a potential lead for Lucy.

It's the most far-fetched of set-ups - even for this show - but it does (finally) lead to some enjoyable farce. And a simple gesture from Lucy at the end provides one of the more entertaining moments, proving yet again that this sitcom doesn't need to be big or clever to be funny.

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 3rd May 2013

Lucy is taking a course in counselling. This, of course, is a red rag to Lee's pawing, snorting, unreconstructed bull, who soon takes up the challenge to be her guinea pig, with the ultimate aim of getting his leg over. It's an overly familiar setup and one that makes those frequent comparisons between Not Going Out and Men Behaving Badly seem justified. At any rate, it soon transpires that Lee has father issues, in the shape and size of Bobby Ball, who might well be able to shed some light on matters.

Ali Catterall, The Guardian, 19th April 2013

In the first two episodes, the gap left by the departed Tim Vine's character was filled with farcical plots. Tonight, things calm down and we veer as close to emotion as this endearingly flippant series gets. Lucy is doing night classes in psychotherapy, so Lee (Lee Mack, a Graham Norton guest tonight) mocks the whole idea - before submitting to counselling himself. Perhaps his failure with relationships has roots in his upbringing?

Enter Bobby Ball as Lee's dad. There are deeper waters than usual under the gags, but dim friend Daisy keeps it light. Daisy: "You said you wanted to damage the bike!" Lucy: "No, I said I wanted to break the cycle."

David Butcher, Radio Times, 19th April 2013

Lured by a bargain-basement price, Lee (Lee Mack) books a skiing holiday for three - a skinflint move he regrets the minute he, Daisy and Lucy step foot inside a cable car to take them to the top of the mountain. As claustrophobia, old-time puns and squeamish humour kick in, we're halfway up a slippery slope which sees Lee at 'the business end' of things when heavily pregnant fellow cable-car passenger (Pooky Quesnel) realises her waters have broken.

Carol Carter and Ann Lee, Metro, 12th April 2013

A cheap skiing holiday in eastern Europe turns into a nail-biting comedy nightmare for Lee, Daisy and Lucy when they become stranded in a cable car far above the piste.

The episode plays out in real time, which helps to build up the hysteria as the group come to realise that the local woman stuck in the car with them is heavily pregnant. You can probably see where this is going, can't you?

What follows is typically ribald, buffoonish Not Going Out fare as hapless Lee (Lee Mack) is inevitably nominated to act as midwife - what with Lucy (Sally Bretton) being incapacitated by an accident and dim Daisy (Katy Wix) being, well, dim Daisy. Throw her a stick and she is guaranteed gleefully to seize the wrong end. Of course it's deeply silly, but as usual there are gags that will make you laugh, despite yourself.

Alison Graham, Radio Times, 12th April 2013

This show could have been made at any time in the last 40 years, which should tell you all you need to know. Lee Mack is the Mr Reliable of British comedy and Not Going Out continues to deliver his stock in trade: traditional, unremarkable humour with a high gag density that just about makes up for its lack of real inspiration.

Tonight Lee, Lucy and Daisy go skiing. This episode plays out in real time, entirely inside a cable car which counts as significant stylistic innovation in trad sitcom world. The trio cause a mechanical breakdown, endanger a bird and incur the wrath of the stern eastern European woman with whom they're sharing the ride. Oh, and the woman is pregnant - if you've ever seen a cookie-cutter prime-time sitcom, you can probably imagine where this might be going. It doesn't disappoint.

Phil Harrison, Time Out, 12th April 2013

The best image in tonight's instalment is of Lee Mack hanging upside-down from a pair of skis.

This is another episode that asks itself "What's the smallest space we could use for an entire 30 minutes?" before deciding to go with a cable car.

Lee, Lucy and Daisy go skiing and if you think their clothes look like they were found in the back room of a 1970s thrift shop, the set-up is even more old fashioned.

The cable car gets stuck (their fault, naturally) and there's an angry, heavily pregnant eastern European woman on board (Pooky Quesnel) who's about to go into labour. To add to the fun, Lucy has both her arms in plaster casts, which makes you wonder how she applied her eye make-up.

The one-liners ricochet around that cable car at such a rate that you'll probably forgive the predictability of their plight.

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 12th April 2013

Share this page