Jeff Rawle plays Lauren's dad Clive...

What attracted you to sign up for You, Me & Them?

I hadn't done a sitcom since Drop The Dead Donkey, which ended in 1998. It's lovely coming back to comedy. These scripts were wonderful - I knew I'd be in safe hands on this production.

Did you think You, Me & Them would be a success?

I was very hopeful. We had a table reading for the very first episode, and I had such a great day. I thought it was so funny. What instantly struck me was that I adored the idea of me being the same age as the guy who was going out with my daughter. I could immediately see the fun we could have with that set-up.

I loved the idea of the huge gap between these two guys who are actually the same age. Tony is so cool. He looks great, he wears lovely clothes, he's got perfect teeth and a real twinkle in his eye. He is still attractive to every woman on the planet. I joke that I have to fend women off all day, and my wife falls on her back, kicks her legs in the air and rolls around on the floor laughing! She says, 'Who cares what you wear on this show? No one's going to look at you because you'll be standing next to Tony!'

Clive is the hen-pecked one in his marriage. His wife Emma is very much in charge. He is retired, so now he's just there to pay for things and drive his wife around. That's what men are for in her eyes. She finds him irritating and small-minded.

Is Emma trying to get him to change?

Yes. He's miserly. He's also a model railway enthusiast who catalogues everything. She's encouraging him to be more adventurous. But he won't change. By mistake he underpays in the supermarket by 7p, and he's terrified that the police will come for him.

Have you enjoyed working with Susie Blake, who plays Emma?

Absolutely. We were at drama school together, and I always thought she was very glamorous. Our paths have constantly crossed. She was in two episodes of Drop The Dead Donkey and we were both in a production of Noises Off for a year and a half. Susie and I love our scenes together in You, Me & Them. We both have masses of respect for each other. We've got such a lot in common, and that really helps when you're playing a married couple.

What does Clive think of Ed?

He's softened towards him. At first, Clive and Emma were very suspicious of Ed, but now they realise he's sincere and rather well-off - which particularly appeals to Clive!

What themes does the show throw up?

The fact that it covers three generations is very interesting. It's extraordinary when you think of the breadth of experience over three generations. It's also amazing when you realise how much things have changed in that time. My mum had to go to the shop to fill up the batteries for our radio. It was like the Stone Age. Now my nine-year-old daughter speaks to her friends in Australia on her computer. That's an incredible journey in just three generations. And it's a very rich seam for this series to mine.