Not Going Out

Not Going Out
Title screen of Not Going Out since series 2
Format	Comedy
Created by	Lee Mack
Directed by	Alex Hardcastle Nick Wood
Starring	Lee Mack Tim Vine Sally Bretton Katy Wix Miranda Hart Megan Dodds
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	4 (as of 2011)
No. of episodes	28 (as of 10 February 2011) (List of episodes)
Production
Location(s)	Teddington Studios, London
Running time	Approx. 30 minutes
Production company(s)	Avalon Television
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One
Original airing	First run: 6 October 2006 - 23 December 2009 Second run: 6 January 2011 - present
Chronology
Related shows	The Sketch Show
External links
Website

Not Going Out is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006. Starring Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Sally Bretton, Miranda Hart and Katy Wix, it was initially written by Mack, Andrew Collins, Paul Kerensa, Simon Evans and Peter Tilbury, but now features contributions from other writers.

It was originally cancelled by the BBC in 2009 despite good ratings. However, the BBC revisited the decision in December of the same year as a result of a petition set up, and renewed the show for a fourth series, which has aired from 6 January 2011. A fifth and sixth series have been confirmed.

Plot

Main article: List of Not Going Out episodes

Series One (2006)

Lee, unambitious and unmotivated, goes from one job to another, living off the good graces of his Californian landlady Kate, with whom he shares a flat in London. It is not long before they find that their friendship is changing into something more. The situation is somewhat complicated by the fact that Lee's best friend Timothy Gladstone Adams, an accountant from Henley, is Kate's ex-boyfriend (they broke up when he left her for a fling with 23-year-old Emma) and he wants to repair their relationship. Lee is torn between pursuing his growing feelings for Kate and remaining loyal to his increasingly paranoid friend.

Series Two (2007)

Kate has gone back to America leaving Tim with a flat and lodger he cannot afford to keep. Tim's sister Lucy Adams, a head hunter recently back from ten years abroad, buys the flat and becomes the new landlady and flatmate to Lee. Tim also hires a cleaner, Barbara, to clean the flat. In "Gay", the series' second episode, 51-year-old Guy first appears and he soon becomes Lucy's boyfriend. Lee, now an ice-cream seller, later appears to fall for Lucy. In the last episode Tim and Lee are convinced Guy is a gangster and has been smuggling diamonds but it turns out that he was having a diamond engagement ring made for Lucy planning to propose on a romantic holiday. Lee leaves the airport thinking Lucy has said yes to Guy but she returns saying that she was too young to get married and that she had split up with Guy. There was also a Christmas Special in 2007 which introduced Tim and Lucy's parents for the first time. In episode 6, Lee meets a woman called Daisy at speed dating, who later appeared to fall for Tim. Although at the time it seems that she will be a one-time character, she reappears in the Christmas special as Tim's girlfriend.

Series Three (2009)

The third series sees Lee trying to pursue Lucy, usually egged on by Barbara he invariably ends up making things worse for himself. We also witness Lucy questioning her sexuality, which shocks Lee. Tim's girlfriend Daisy also becomes more of a fixture in series three. In the last episode Lucy is about to marry Pavlov Petrietskivadorski the mechanic so he can stay in the country however she realises that she's made a mistake and Lee gets Barbara to marry Pavlov instead, the last scene is of them driving off together for their honeymoon in India. Barbara is seen back in the flat, wanting to go off with Lee's dad, Frank, who is seen in the last episode, which was broadcast as a Christmas Special on 23 December 2009. Lucy and Lee kiss under the mistletoe.

Series Four (2011)

A fourth series of six episodes was filmed from late September to early November 2010. Miranda Hart did not return as Barbara, as filming of the second series of Miranda was also taking place. The series began airing on 6 January 2011. The series finished with a near death experience for Lee, who later organises a date with Lucy.

Series Five (2012)

After the airing of series 4 there were rumours in the Daily Mirror that Tim Vine wished to quit the show.In an interview with TV channel Dave, Tim Vine revealed that a fifth series was being written, and thus disproved the rumour. The British Comedy Guide also confirms the recommissioning with information from "show insiders". The Fifth series will contain six episodes and has been filmed from November until 22 December 2011 and will air in early 2012.

Series Six (2013)

A sixth series has already been confirmed which is yet to be written for 2013.

Main/recurring characters

Actor/Actress	Character	Occupation	Notes	Duration
Lee Mack (Thomas Gater as a child in flashbacks)	Lee	Various (was temporarily an ice cream man)	Lucy's lodger (originally Kate's lodger)	All episodes
Megan Dodds	Kate	Book publisher	Tim's ex-girlfriend	All episodes in Series 1
Sally Bretton (Ruby Stokes as a child in flashbacks)	Lucy Adams	Headhunter	Tim's sister and Lee's landlady/ flatmate	All episodes from Series 2 onwards
Tim Vine	Tim Adams	Corporate Accountant	Lee's best friend	All episodes
Miranda Hart	Barbara Petrietskivadorski	Self-employed cleaner	Cleaner / Lee's Acupuncturist in Series 1 Episode 4	All episodes from Series 2 until the 2009 Christmas special, except Baby
Katy Wix	Daisy	Hair dresser	Tim's girlfriend	Introduced in Dating, and appears in all future episodes except Gangster, Pregnant and Neighbour
Timothy West/Geoffrey Whitehead	Geoffrey Adams	Retired	Tim & Lucy's parents	Introduced in Murder at Christmas and reappear in Party, Marriage and Dancing
Deborah Grant	Wendy Adams	Unknown
Simon Dutton	Guy	Businessman	Lucy's boyfriend	Introduced in Gay and appears in all episodes until Gangster, except Dating
Bobby Ball	Frank	Mascot/temporary mall Santa	Lee's father	Introduced in Absent Father Christmas, and reappears in Life on Mars Bars

Production

Most of each episode is shot on set in front of an audience at Teddington Studios in southwest London. There are two main sets: the flat and the bar that Lee and Tim frequently visit. Outdoor shots and real indoor location shots have also been used on occasion. The fifth series is being shot at the BBC Television Studios.

The show is filmed in HDTV and, since series 4, airs simultaneously on BBC One HD. Previous to this, the show was not simulcast on BBC HD, but shown on BBC HD 30 Minutes after the BBC One airing.

A lot of the humour is based on word play and double entendres delivered in a deadpan manner. This is the comedy style Lee Mack and Tim Vine have used both in stand-up and in The Sketch Show, to the extent that an occasional one-liner from their solo performances is slipped in. This is mostly one sided with Kate/Lucy typically being the victims of the joke. Sight gags are also frequently used, while gags and witticisms are incorporated into almost every line of script.

For the first series, episodes were written by Mack and Andrew Collins, with members of the cast credited for additional material. Series 2 saw Simon Evans and Paul Kerensa join the writing team. It was Mack and Collins's job to write most of the episode's material with Evans and Kerensa 'gagging' them up. Series 3 saw the writing team expanded, with Darin Henry, Daniel Peak and Simon Dean contributing to the main episodes (all co-written with Mack); the "gag writing" team was also expanded, from two members to as many as eight, not counting the main writers, on a single episode.

In the original pilot of the series, which has not been aired, the part of Kate was played by Catherine Tate. This is referenced in the third episode of Series 1, where Kate says, 'It's like we're an entity. There's no Tim. There's no Kate. We're just one thing called... Tate.'

The Theme song is performed by Frank Sinatra impersonator Stephen Triffitt.

The flat Lee and Kate/Lucy live in is No 17.

DVD releases

Series		No. of Discs	Year	No. of Episode	Release Dates
					Region 2	Region 4
	Complete Series 1	1	2006	6	22 October 2007	13 May 2009
	Complete Series 2	2	2007	8	2 February 2009	9 December 2009
	Complete Series 3	2	2009	8	27 September 2010	5 May 2011
	Complete Series 4	2	2011	6	14 February 2011	—
	Complete Series 1 & 2	3	2006 & 2007	14	2 February 2009	—
	Complete Series 1 – 3	5	2006 – 2009	22	27 September 2010	—

External links

• Not Going Out at BBC Online
• Not Going Out at the Internet Movie Database
• Not Going Out at TV.com
• Not Going Out at the British Comedy Guide