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.

Press clippings Page 6

Lee Mack not surprised if comics came from broken homes

Not Going Out returns for its eighth series this month, which makes the will-they-won't-they tale of a feckless man's passion for his landlady the longest-running BBC sitcom still on air.

Nick Curtis, The Telegraph, 13th January 2017

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 2017

Interview: 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 2017

Not 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 2017

Preview - 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 2017

Not Going Out: the family sitcom?

Whilst I didn't find much to enjoy/laugh about in these opening episodes you can never count out Not Going Out. It had faced adversity many a time and coming bouncing back and at time when BBC comedy mainly consists of Still Open All Hours, Citizen Khan and Mrs. Brown's Boys perhaps I should just shut up and enjoy it.

Luke, The Custard TV, 13th January 2017

TV 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

Not Going Out Series 8 preview

Same music. Same cast. Same title. Yet there's something noticeably different about the eighth series of Not Going Out.

Elliot Gonzalez, I Talk Telly, 7th January 2017

Lee Mack returns with a full house

Lee Mack explains why and how they've advanced hit sitcom Not Going Out from having a baby in the last show to three children now.

Sean Marland, What's On TV, 3rd January 2017

How Everybody Loves Raymond inspired Not Going Out

Lee Mack has revealed that he's taken inspiration for the new series of Not Going Out from an unexpected source: Everybody Loves Raymond. "His rules were that someone it the writers' room had to say, 'Yeah, that happened to me.' So I decided that was going to be the rule this year."

Chortle, 2nd January 2017

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