For the American sitcom of similar name, see Family Affair

Family Affair

Family Affair is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment. Davis' traditional...

. See also Family Affair (disambiguation)

Family Affair (disambiguation)

Family Affair could refer to one of the following:*Family Affair, a situation comedy television series that aired from 1966 until 1971*"Family Affair" , a 1971 #1 hit single*"Family Affair" Family Affair could refer to one of the following:*Family Affair, a situation comedy television series that...

.

Family Affairs was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel (the first being a half-hour introduction to the station) on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night. The serial was broadcast in half-hour episodes, screening each week night.

The serial never achieved high ratings, and as a result was drastically retooled several times.
During its run, the series underwent several major cast reshuffles, changes in tone and style, and a revision

Retcon

Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...

 of its fictional location.

On 2 August 2005, Five announced that they would not be renewing Family Affairs for another year. Shooting ceased on 4 November, and the final episode was broadcast on 30 December 2005.

The series was shot on video processed to give a film look

Filmizing

Filmizing is a process that makes video productions seem to have been shot on film. The term is generic and informal. The process is usually electronic, although filmizing can sometimes occur as an un-intentional by-product of some optical techniques, such as telerecording.-Differences between...

. As an experiment, it switched to standard video presentation for occasional single episodes, one in 1999 and another in July 2004. It permanently switched to standard video presentation in September 2005, continuing in that format until the end of the series at the end of that year. This change was part of a revamp by new producer Sean O'Connor

Sean O'Connor (producer)

Sean O'Connor is a British producer, writer and director working in theatre, film, television and radio.O'Connor is currently producing the feature film version of Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea directed by Terence Davies and starring Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale...

, however the decision to not renew the series had already been made prior to any of his changes being seen on screen.

History

The serial originally focused on the Hart and Gates family and some of their friends and close associates living in the fictional outer London suburb of Charnham. The Hart family consisted of parents Chris (Ian Ashpitel) and Annie (Liz Crowther

Liz Crowther

Elizabeth Ann 'Liz' Crowther is an English television actress. She is the daughter of comedian Leslie Crowther....

) and their four children, ladies' man Duncan (Rocky Marshall

Rocky Marshall

Rocky Marshall is a British television and film actor, living near Battersea park.-Biography:He has starred in mainstream movies such as Mr Right, Hart's War, Re-Kill and Mean Machine...

), Duncan's twin, the confused 24-year-old virgin and trainee solicitor Holly (Sandra Huggett

Sandra Huggett

Sandra Huggett is a British actress.She grew up in Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire, but now lives in North London. Her father is professional golfer, Brian Huggett. She attended both Haberdashers Monmouth School For Girls & Mountview Theatre School...

), police constable Melanie (Cordelia Bugeja

Cordelia Bugeja

Cordelia Bugeja is a British actress, best known for her roles as Melanie Hart in the soap opera Family Affairs, and the prostitute Kate in Respectable on Five....

), and schoolboy Jamie (Michael Cole).

Chris and Annie's parents were also featured. After losing his wife, Sally (Jean Heywood

Jean Heywood

Jean Heywood is a British actress, appearing in films such as Billy Elliot and Our Day Out as well as TV series When the Boat Comes In, All Creatures Great and Small, Boys from the Blackstuff, Family Affairs, The Bill and Casualty.In 2010, Heywood made a guest appearance in the ITV series Married...

) in the opening episodes, Chris's father Angus (Ian Cullen

Ian Cullen

Ian Cullen is a British actor born on 20 October 1939 with numerous roles in British television, including regular roles in Emergency - Ward 10 , Z-Cars , When the Boat Comes In , and five's soap opera Family Affairs...

) came to live with the Hart family. Annie's parents who lived nearby were the staunchly conservative Elsa Gates (Delena Kidd

Delena Kidd

Delena Kidd is an English actress who has appeared in numerous United Kingdom television productions since the late 1950s. In recent years she is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Queen Adelaide in Victoria & Albert....

) and philandering Jack (Ken Farrington

Ken Farrington

Ken Farrington is an English actor.He first found fame playing the role of Billy Walker, wayward son of publican Annie, in ITV's long running soap opera, Coronation Street...

).

Other original characters were Chris's partner in their building business, Nick Trip

Nick Trip

Nick Trip was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Barry McCormick.Nick was an original character in the serial, appearing from episode one in March 1997. He was the business partner of Chris Hart in a building business...

 (Barry McCormick), Melanie's bubbly best friend Claire Toomey (Tina Hall), Annie's baby-obsessed best friend Maria Simons (Annie Miles

Annie Miles

Annie Miles is an actress who is best known for her roles in television soap opera. She played Sue Sullivan in Brookside from 1987 to 1991, and Maria Simons Starr in Family Affairs from 1997 to 2000....

), and Duncan's loyal drinking partners Tim Webster (Idris Elba

Idris Elba

Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...

) and Roy

Roy Farmer

Royston Farmer was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Miles Petit from episode one of the series in March 1997....

 (Miles Petit).

The action took place in a series of modern, middle-class suburban houses and spacious apartments whose geographic relation to one another was not clearly defined by the series. The primary meeting place for characters was the slick and modern bar restaurant The Lock located in Charnham's picturesque riverside marina district. The expansive parklands and forested areas of Charnham Common were also frequently visited by characters.

Later in 1997, Maria's ex-husband, the callous Pete Callan, appeared in town. Pete, played by ex-Brookside

Brookside

Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...

 actor David Easter

David Easter

David Easter is an English actor.He is best known for his role as Pete Callan in the television soap opera Family Affairs from 1997 to 2005. He had previously been a regular cast member on Brookside, playing Pat Hancock from 1984 to 1987...

, provided the series with a much-needed villain, and he quickly became the show's standout character. Another early arrival was the sassy bisexual Susie Ross (Tina Landini), who took a job at The Lock and romanced both Duncan and his twin sister Holly. Nick's troublesome teenage son Liam

Liam Trip

Liam Trip was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Stephen Hoyle from episode one in March 1997 until 1999....

 (Stephen Hoyle) arrived, and neighbourhood nosey parker Bill Cockerill (Roger Sloman

Roger Sloman

Roger Sloman is an English actor. Born in the Harlesden district of London, he has performed in dozens of television and film appearances since the late 1970s...

) and his wife Samantha (Tessa Wyatt

Tessa Wyatt

Tessa Wyatt is an English actress who first came to the public spotlight through her marriage to Tony Blackburn. She later starred in the sitcom Robin's Nest.-Early life:...

) would make several appearances.

In the show's storyline, Liam became involved in a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 robbery. His lawyer was Pamela Hargreaves (Sandy Hendrickse), and she soon embarked on a romance with Liam's father, Nick. Meanwhile, Pete bought The Lock, further cementing his importance to the series. Entrepreneur Peter Stringfellow

Peter Stringfellow

Peter James Stringfellow is an English nightclub owner.-Early life:Stringfellow was born on 17 October 1940 to Elsie and James William Stringfellow , a steelworker...

 even made a guest appearance in one episode.

First revamp

By mid-1998, the programme's middling ratings prompted the show's makers to drastically revamp the series. Brian Park, famous for his overhaul of ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's Coronation Street

Coronation Street

Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...

, which included the controversial writing-out of several long standing characters including Derek Wilton

Derek Wilton

Derek Bernard Wilton was a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. He was portrayed by Peter Baldwin. He appeared between 1976 and 1997.-Development:...

, was appointed as Family Affairs new producer and was tasked with remodelling the series. It was decided that the majority of the regular characters would be written out - including all members of Hart and Gates families who formed the basis of the serial.

Through 1998 Tim, Susie and Liam departed, and the recurring Cockerill family was phased out. Pamela's romance with Nick developed and her mother, the lovable but meddling gossip Sadie Hargreaves

Sadie Lloyd

Sadie Lloyd was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Barbara Young from 1998 until 2005.-Character's background:...

 (Barbara Young

Barbara Young (actor)

Barbara Young is an English actress. She is probably best known for her role as the future Emperor Nero's mother, Agrippinilla, in the landmark 1976 BBC serial I, Claudius....

), entered the storyline. Lovable rogue

Lovable rogue

The lovable rogue is a literary trope in the form of a character, often from a dysfunctional or working-class upbringing, who tends to recklessly defy norms and social conventions but who still evokes empathy from the audience or other characters. The lovable rogue is male and is often trying to...

 Dave Matthews (Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After his first band Treebound Story broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. He later joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker...

), his brassy, shameless, chain-smoking wife Cat (Nicola Duffett

Nicola Duffett

Nicola Duffett is an English actress.She remains best known for two long-running soap opera roles. After appearing as Debbie Bates in EastEnders from 1993 to 1995, she went into the role of boozy floozie Cat Matthews in Family Affairs...

), and Dave's son from an earlier marriage, Josh Matthews (Terry Burns) moved in. Dave was an extramarital love interest for Annie Hart, before falling in love with her daughter Holly.

Also introduced was the strident owner of the local mini supermarket Dusty McHugh (Doreen Ingleton), her mouthy daughter Yasmin (Ebony Thomas

Ebony Thomas

Ebony Bones is a British singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Writing and producing her debut album Bone Of My Bones, she was named one of the "40 Men And Women Who Make London" by Time Out for their 40th Anniversary edition as well as producing the soundtrack for Yves Saint Laurent's...

) and her conscientious son Benji

Benji McHugh

Benjamin McHugh was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs. He first appeared in November 1998 played by Junior Laniyan until 2001. Mark McClean then took over the role from 2002 until 2003.-About Benji:...

 (Junior Laniyan). They lived in a flat above their shop. An adjacent flat was occupied by students Declan Byrne (Quentin Jones), Gabby Johnson (Emma Linley) and Clive Starr (Huw Bevan). Clive's older brother Dudley Starr, also known as Serge Pompidou, (David Verrey

David Verrey

David Verrey is a British television, film and stage actor.-Television:His best known roles were those of Serge Starr in more than 200 episodes of the soap Family Affairs, Golgarach and McGrew in the children's adventure game series Knightmare and the corpulent villain Joseph Green in the Doctor...

) became the new chef at The Lock.

Yasmin, known for her ostentatious facial piercings, quickly started a relationship with Josh Matthews. The plain and pudgy Clive was revealed to viewers as gay and secretly in love with hunky flatmate Declan. Serge embarked on a romance with Maria and they were soon married. Another staff member of The Lock was vapid barmaid Siobhan Jones (Jemma Walker

Jemma Walker

Jemma Walker is an English actress, known for portraying Siobhan Jones Callan in Family Affairs and Sasha Perkins in EastEnders.-Background:Born in Essex, Walker was a dancer until the age of sixteen...

). Seen initially in a support role on only a recurring basis, Siobhan would soon develop into one of the show's main characters.

Gates and Hart families depart

In late 1998 Jack crashed his car on an isolated road while driving drunk. His wife Elsa, the only passenger, was knocked unconscious in the crash. Jack placed her in the driver's seat before anyone arrived on the scene and blamed her for the crash. Elsa suffered amnesia and during her subsequent recuperation Jack kept her isolated from family, fearing their support or inquiries could trigger the return of her memory or uncover the truth. When Elsa's memory began to return Jack murdered her by smothering her with a pillow. A vengeful Jack changed his will to make the Hart family's nemesis Pete Callan chief beneficiary and committed suicide by gassing himself in his car.

Then on 29 January 1999, the entire Hart family (except for Duncan who had already left the series) was killed. After Roy and Melanie's wedding the Harts conducted a small reception on their river boat. After Roy left the boat to retrieve a hangover cure for Jamie, a fallen candle ignited leaking gas. The resultant explosion killed all on board.

New direction

Immediately the show's theme tune and opening titles were revamped. The titles reflected the serial's new direction: they now deployed flashes of a tube journey to Charnham Station, linking Charnham with the city of London. Over this shots of the new characters introduced over preceding weeks were shown.

Roy suffered emotional trauma after the loss of Melanie, and kidnapped Claire, threatening to kill her. After her rescue she left Charnham. Roy eventually recovered.

Serge and Maria were married and she soon announced her pregnancy, while refusing to let Serge anywhere near her or to even share the same bed for many months. She was in fact faking the pregnancy, merely wearing a cushion under her dress. Disguised by a dark wig, Maria eventually stole a baby from a maternity hospital, bringing it home and attempting to pass it off as her own child. The truth quickly came out and the baby promptly returned to its real parents, who chose to not press charges.

Pamela defended new client Simon Thornton (Valentine Pelka

Valentine Pelka

Valentine Pelka is an English actor who has starred in film and on television.-Biography:Pelka was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire to an actress mother and a civil engineer father. His mother is Irish, and his father is Polish. His sister is Kazia Pelka an actress who starred in Brookside, amongst...

) who was accused of rape. She was convinced of his innocence so didn't fully investigate his background. She later learned he had kept vital facts about previous convictions from her. Realising he was guilty she dropped the case and resigned from her job, but he started stalking her. Pamela accidentally killed Simon with an iron during a confrontation at his home. Fearing her claims of self defence would not be believed, she enlisted Sadie's help in burying Simon's body on Charnham Common. Racked with guilt for several months, Pamela and Sadie exhibited strange behaviour which puzzled Nick.

Nick and Pamela later married at The Lock. The marriage was short-lived: Simon's body was found and Pamela was arrested and imprisoned for murder. Pamela took full blame and insisted Sadie had not assisted; Sadie wasn't charged and remained in Charnham. Nick soon left town after this.

Benjie McHugh began a love affair with his married teacher Maggie Roswell (Robyn Moore

Robyn Moore (British actor)

Robyn Moore is a British actress, probably best known for playing Shirley Benson in EastEnders from 2003 to 2004....

). They eventually went on the run together with Maggie's two sons. Maggie was ultimately killed in a car accident while fleeing.

Clive Starr accepted that Declan was straight and there could be no romance between them. Clive started a romance with Adam Sheldrake (Vince Leigh). Adam was revealed a policeman who was in the closet, fearing that being bisexual could affect his career. Adam's ex-wife and daughter showed up. Adam started an affair with Clive's flatmate Gabby, which the ex-wife tried to break up.

Siobhan's sister Julie-Ann Jones

Julie-Ann Jones

Julie-Ann Jones was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Chloe Howman from 1999 until 2000-Character information:...

 arrived and started a romantic pursuit of Pete Callan. This ended with the revelation that Pete was actually her father.

For several months after the revamp the existing locations of Maria's flat, Pete's flat, the marina and The Lock continued to be featured. Dave and Cat lived in the former Gates residence. Despite the new tube station opening sequence, the occasionally seen exterior shots of the show's locales along with brief glimpses of Sadie's home and the frequently visited Charnham Common suggested that Charnham was a modern, green and spacious small town.

New characters continued to be added to the series, with the Derwin family, comprising the censorious Fern Derwin (Belinda Sinclair

Belinda Sinclair

Belinda Sinclair is a British actress widely known for several recurring television roles.She was born in London, trained as an actor with the Arts Educational Schools, London and had early success on the stage...

) her easy-going taxi-driver husband Max (Nick Stringer

Nick Stringer

Nick Stringer is an English actor.In a thirty year career, Stringer has appeared in numerous well-known British television shows, including The Bill, Open All Hours, Only Fools and Horses, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Coronation Street, Family Affairs, Minder, Johnny Jarvis, Butterflies and My Family...

) and their rebellious foster son Arlo Dean (Ash Newman), joining the storyline. The Derwins soon fostered the troubled and sensitive Gemma Craig (Angela Hazeldine

Angela Hazeldine

Angela Lee Hazeldine is a British actress and musician, known for portraying Gemma Craig in the Five soap opera Family Affairs.-Background:The late actor James Hazeldine was a cousin of Hazeldine's father...

) who had recently lost her entire family. Meanwhile Josh Matthews pursued a singing career, enlisting a manager (played by Jonathan Coleman making a guest appearance) and recording a CD, which didn't sell.

Throughout the rest of 1999 and 2000, the departures of Claire, Nick and then Maria left Roy Farmer as the show's only remaining original character. Pamela and Serge had also departed, while Dusty McHugh moved to Jamaica, leaving Yasmin and Benji - and the shop - in the care of her sister-in-law Pearl McHugh (Doña Croll

Doña Croll

Doña Croll is a Jamaican-born British actress. She is best known for her British soap opera roles as Pearl McHugh in Family Affairs and more recently as Vera Corrigan in the BBC soap, Doctors....

). Dusty returned briefly for a Christmas visit before returning to Jamaica. She was later killed, off camera, in a car accident there.

Six months after his introduction, Max Derwin died of a heart attack during an argument with Arlo Dean. Max's widow Fern discovered that he had an illegitimate son, Maxwell, from a relationship with another woman, living in a nearby town. Max had left him everything.

Claire returned to the series in 2000, hardened by her disastrous marriage to Pete. She was without her twins, who now lived with her sister.

Stanley Street

In 2000 coinciding with the introduction of the Warrington family, the geographic focus of the series was redefined as being on Stanley Street in the fictitious W15 borough of West London. Previously the specific location of Charnham had never been explicitly stated; it was known to be close to a river, and characters sometimes travelled to Maidenhead

Maidenhead

Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...

. With the late 1998 infusion of new characters it was established Dusty and her children lived over their minimarket and that in the next door flat were students Declan, Gabby and Clive. Now we would see action regularly extend to the shop's street exterior and the surrounding buildings, and this location was revealed to be the bustling Stanley Street with its row of narrow shopfronts and terrace houses. Just as Roy was establishing his new internet café

Internet cafe

An Internet café or cybercafé is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the café in the name...

 business next door to Yasmin's mini supermarket the Warringtons moved in across the street. Roy came to live in the street as well, and when Pete sold The Lock to buy old-style pub The Black Swan this too was revealed to be on the same short street.

In quick succession any regular characters not already living there soon moved into Stanley Street, while Sadie's home was inexplicably shifted there without her having to move house. After this the various locations seen earlier in the series - such as The Lock and the marina - would not be seen again. Alongside Yasmin's minimarket and the newly opened internet café, The Black Swan would become one of the show's primary meeting places: despite the fact that Pete was openly hated by most of the show's characters, they still all followed him to become regulars at his new pub. From now on most outdoor taping was on the outdoor Stanley Street set, reducing the number of time-consuming location shoots while confining much of the action to the one street.

Many storylines revolved around Pete Callan and his various crimes, schemes, and love affairs. Meanwhile the large group of younger characters in the series went through a series of romances and break-ups. The newly introduced Warrington family became key figures in the show's on-going storylines. Nikki Warrington (Rebecca Blake) endured marriage problems and problems with her large blended family which also consisted of her doctor husband Andrew

Andrew Warrington

Andrew Warrington was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Simon Cook from 2000 until 2001.-Family:*Son: Luke Warrington*Daughter: Sara Warrington...

 (Simon Cook

Simon Cook (actor)

Simon Timothy Cook is a British television actor, best known for his role as Andrew Warrington in the Five soap opera Family Affairs between 2000 and 2001....

), his children Luke

Luke Warrington

Luke Warrington was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Royce Cronin from 2000 up until 2001, but returned later that year and remained in the show until May 2002.-About Luke:...

 (Royce Cronin

Royce Cronin

Royce Cronin is a New Zealand born actor that has had main acting roles in the UK.He is well known for the popular role of Luke Warrington in five's one time flagship soap Family Affairs where he played the role in the popular Warrington family....

) and Sara

Sara Warrington

Sara Warrington was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Beth Cordingly from 2000 until 2001.A rebellious teenager who clashed with her young stepmother Nikki Warrington, Sara eventually left home to work as a lap dancer, spending much of her income on cocaine.Sara had...

 (Beth Cordingly

Beth Cordingly

Beth Cordingly is an English actress, most famous for her role as PC Kerry Young in the ITV police drama The Bill.-Biography:...

), and Nikki's children Becky

Becky Scott

Rebecca "Becky" Scott was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Chandra Ruegg from 2000 up until 2003.-Character's background:...

 (Chandra Reugg) and Darren (Joe Fox, later Ike Hamilton) from her previous marriage to Adrian Scott

Adrian Scott (Family Affairs)

Adrian Scott was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Ariyon Bakare from 2000 until 2001.-About Adrian:Adrian first appeared in March 2000, whilst being visited in prison by his ex-wife, Nikki Warrington, and their son Darren. Adrian was serving a sentence for being an...

 (Ariyon Bakare

Ariyon Bakare

Ariyon Debo Bakare is an English actor best known for his roles in the British soap opera Family Affairs from 2000 to 2001 and the BBC One daytime drama Doctors from 2001 to 2005. Prior to this, Bakare guested on British dramas The Bill, Casualty and Holby City respectivelyAfter leaving Doctors,...

), who was at the time serving a prison sentence.

Nikki became embroiled in scandal when she embarked upon an affair with her stepson Luke. This major storyline was played alongside that of Pete Callan's latest misdemeanour - framing new wife Siobhan for the murder of Dave's son Josh. Siobhan had struck a blow to a suspected burglar in the darkened kitchen upstairs at the pub, where she lived with Pete, before realising the "burglar" was merely barman Josh Matthews.

Siobhan falsely believed that her blow to Josh had killed him, when it merely knocked him unconscious. Pete, who was on the scene in seconds and who had a deep-seated enmity with Josh and Josh's father Dave, secretly delivered the deadly blow after Siobhan left the room in terror. Siobhan was quickly arrested and sent to prison.

2001

In 2001 the Warrington clan was extended to include their relatives, the Webb and Ellis families, comprising Nikki's brother Matt Ellis (Matthew Jay Lewis

Matthew Jay Lewis

Matthew Jay Lewis a British actor who trained at The Central School of Speech and Drama. He has worked extensively in both commercials and TV. His TV work includes his role as Matt Ellis in five's one time flagship soap Family Affairs....

), his girlfriend Karen

Karen Ellis (Family Affairs character)

Karen Ellis was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Tanya Franks from 2000 until 2003.-About Karen:...

 (Tanya Franks

Tanya Franks

Tanya Christine Franks is an English-based actress, writer and producer, who is most known for starring roles on television in Family Affairs, The Bill, Pulling and the role of Rainie Cross in EastEnders. Franks is also the founder of Stock-pot Productions, a theatre and media production company...

) and Karen's brother Jim Webb

Jim Webb (Family Affairs)

James Webb was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Jo Dow from 2000 until 2003.-About Jim:Jim first arrived in Charnham in December 2000, not long after his sister Karen and her boyfriend Matt Ellis arrived....

 (Joe Dow), and her nephew Paul Webb (Martin Delaney

Martin Delaney (actor)

Martin Delaney is a British actor.-Career:He started work in musical theatre, appearing in Peter Pan - The British Musical and Oliver! Following performances in the West End, Delaney swiftly moved into television with the Nickelodeon series, the Renford Rejects...

). Young rebel Paul Webb had many clashes with other characters and broke up the relationship between Benji and Gemma.

Meanwhile with their storylines gradually dwindling, the characters of Gabby Johnson and Clive Starr quietly departed. Their places in their flat were taken by a succession of attractive young residents, including Polly Arnold (Juliet Cowan

Juliet Cowan

-Career:She may be recognizable to fans of ITV1 cop drama The Bill when she guest starred in over 20 episodes as Julie Saunders, the mother of the boy who accused PC Tony Stamp of sexual assault...

) and the bossy Dr Tanya Ayuba (Laila Rouass

Laila Rouass

Laila Abdesselam Rouass is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Amber Gates in the British television drama Footballers' Wives and as Sarah Page in the third season of Primeval .-Career:...

). Polly romanced Declan Byrne but when her brother Gavin Arnold (Neil Roberts

Neil Roberts (actor)

Neil Roberts is an English actor, known for portraying Rex Buckland in Charmed, Gavin Arnold in Family Affairs and Richard in Life Bites.-Background:...

) arrived in town she resumed her illicit love affair with him. A disgusted Declan ended his romance with Polly and left Charnham. In other developments the establishment of a youth refuge on the street angered some residents, however Roy soon became a highly involved volunteer on the project.

Jim Webb became Cat's reluctant second husband. Meanwhile Paul Webb paired up with Gemma Craig, who continued to live with her well-meaning but increasingly meddlesome foster mother Fern. Fern had married Roy's father Vince (Stephen Yardley

Stephen Yardley

Stephen Yardley is an English actor, known for his work on British television between 1965 and 2004.Best known for his role as Ken Masters in the British TV drama Howards' Way , Yardley most recently appeared in the British TV comedy Hex .He made early appearances on TV in the 1960s, in series...

). Karen then embarked upon a controversial lesbian affair with her child's surrogate mother, Sadie's niece from Australia Kelly Hurst (Nicky Talacko). This storyline also featured the brief appearance of Kelly's father and Sadie's brother-in-law Barry, portrayed by Tony Booth. At Christmas, Paul Webb discovered that Jim was his real father after believing he had been adopted by strangers as a baby.

2002

In 2002 Cat's niece Geri (Anna Acton

Anna Acton

Anna Acton is a British actress who is best known for her role as Rochelle Barratt, the wife of a borough commander in the ITV television series The Bill...

) moved to Stanley Street. The troubled Davenport family moved into the flat originally occupied by Declan, Gabby and Clive. The mother Ginny (Joanna Foster

Joanna Foster

Joanna Foster is a British actress. She is the daughter of the late actor Barry Foster and the sister of the actress Miranda Foster.She was the third actress to portray the role of Susan Barlow in Coronation Street, after Wendy Jane Walker and Suzy Patterson. She played the character for five...

) was recovering from a severe bout of depression while husband Robert (Brian Cowan

Brian Cowan

Brian Cowan is a British actor, known for his role as Robert Davenport in long running continuous narrative drama Family Affairs.-References:...

) worked to launch a catering business on Stanley Street. Their three teenage children were Jessica (Sammy Glenn

Sammy Glenn

Samantha "Sammy" Glenn is an English film and television actress. She trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London. Her sister, Wendy Glenn, is also an actress....

), Cameron

Cameron Davenport

Cameron Davenport was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Rupert Hill from 2002 until 2004.-Character's background:...

 (Rupert Hill

Rupert Hill

Rupert Sinclair Hill is an English actor known for several former roles in UK soap operas.Rupert Hill started with small roles on television...

) and Lewis

Lewis Davenport

Lewis Davenport was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Sam Stockman from 2002 until 2004.-Lewis' arrival in Charnham:...

 (Sam Stockman

Sam Stockman

Sam Stockman is a British actor whose most notable role was Lewis Davenport in British Soap Opera Family Affairs from 2002 to 2004....

). They were soon joined by Robert's much younger adoptive brother Jude Davenport, openly despised by Ginny, Cameron and Lewis, after he had romantically pursued Jessica.

Cameron Davenport and Paul Webb became close friends until Paul learned of Cameron's brief affair with his fiancée Gemma. A furious Paul left Gemma at the altar and left Charnham for a brief period.

Charlotte Day (Leanne Lakey

Leanne Lakey

Leanne Lakey is a British actress, known for playing Belinda Peacock in EastEnders and Charlotte Day in Family Affairs.-Background:Lakey originally trained to be a dancer, and is accomplished at jazz, ballroom and ballet...

) arrived and began working at the Black Swan and quickly became a love interest of Pete Callan. She was later joined by her younger sister Lucy (Julia Lee Smith

Julia Lee Smith

Julia Lee Smith is a British actress who is probably best known for her roles as Kate Ellis in the ITV soap Night and Day and Lucy Day in Family Affairs . In addition to this, however, she has also appeared in a number of other television series, notably The Bill, Sky One's Dream Team and Casualty...

), and their mother Eileen

Eileen Callan

Eileen Callan was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Rosie Rowell from 2002 until the end of the series in 2005.-Character's background:...

 (Rosie Rowell

Rosie Rowell

Rosie Rowell is a British actress, probably best known for her roles as Eileen Callan in Family Affairs and Donna Tucker in Soldier Soldier...

). After Charlotte's departure, Eileen and Lucy continued in the series, becoming involved in several highly dramatic events.

Peter England

Peter England

Peter England is an English actor, best known for his roles as Arnie in Teachers, David Ash in Haunted, Matt in Matt's Million, Ben Galloway in Family Affairs and as regular TC in Casualty....

 joined as Ben Galloway who lived in the half way house and worked in Roy's cafe. Ben's storyline progressed to a point where Ben admitted his was gay and embarked upon a stormy relationship. Ben shared the first gay kiss on British daytime TV.

Leaving the series was Yasmin and Benji's Aunt Pearl, who moved away. The storyline followed the travails of a guilt-racked Siobhan as she endured prison and a lengthy court case after being framed for Josh's murder. She was eventually released and returned to Charnhan, where she and others slowly began to piece the truth together. However, nothing could be proved and Pete got away with the crime of murdering Josh. Siobhan left town in 2002 after Pete Callan caused a car crash that killed Kate Matherson (Mary Stockley

Mary Stockley

Mary Stockley is a British stage, television and film actress.A former member of the National Youth Music Theatre, Stockley studied drama at university. She made her first television appearance in 2001 in the TV movie Being Dom Jolly, in 2002 going on to play Kate Matherson in eight episodes of...

) and which injured Siobhan.

Robert Davenport had a one-night stand with Geri, after which she accused him of rape. He went to trial but was acquitted. The stresses led to the break-up of his marriage. Wife Ginny moved to France, taking daughter Jessica with her. Jude Davenport also moved away.

2003 cast revamp

In September 2003 another drastic cast revamp occurred as new series producer Alison Davis arrived, presented with the onerous task of finally getting viewing figures up to an acceptable standard.

Martin Delaney

Martin Delaney (actor)

Martin Delaney is a British actor.-Career:He started work in musical theatre, appearing in Peter Pan - The British Musical and Oliver! Following performances in the West End, Delaney swiftly moved into television with the Nickelodeon series, the Renford Rejects...

 who played Paul Webb left the series to take a role in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 serial Shortland Street

Shortland Street

Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in...

. Following Paul's departure all members of the related Webb, Warrington and Ellis families were slowly written out of the story and original character Claire Toomey left Charnham after a long return stint.

Robert Davenport and co-worker Fern Farmer were killed when a runaway car ploughed into the shopfront of Robert's catering business. The driver was Dave's recently arrived stepson Jake Walker (Seb Castang) who lost control of the stolen car during a police chase, following a botched deal by Gabriel Drummond. However the biggest casualty of Davis's arrival was the show's only remaining original character to have appeared continuously for the entire run of the series, Roy Farmer, who was killed in a fire in his internet café business.

These departures left just a handful of old characters on board, with Pete, Sadie, Yasmin, Cat and the returning Dave as the only pre-2002 characters remaining in the show (Pete had joined in 1997, the others in late 1998). Pete Callan was now the show's longest-serving character. Pete and Eileen were married, however she had in fact married him for strategic reasons in a long-term plan for revenge.

Indeed it was Eileen, in league with the sinister Mike Shaw

Mike Shaw (Family Affairs)

Michael Shaw was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Tony O'Callaghan from November 2003 until his death in June 2004 at the hands of Lucy Day...

 (Tony O'Callaghan

Tony O'Callaghan

Tony O'Callaghan is a British television actor of Irish descent.He is notable for his character Sergeant Matt Boyden on the television series The Bill from 1991 to 2003.-Early life:...

), who had set the fire in the internet café that killed Roy. It was done in an attempt to frame Pete for arson. No one knew Roy was inside when the fire was set and when Pete was arrested for setting the fire the charge was arson and murder. Pete was sent to prison on remand and was absent from the series for many months. He was seen in only a few isolated episodes where other characters visited him in prison. He eventually returned to the storyline with his trial. He was acquitted and returned to Charnham and to running the pub with Eileen, who had become licensee while he was in custody.

On Pete's first day back one of his tasks was to dispose of the body of Mike Shaw, who, in an incident somewhat similar to the death of Josh Matthews, had been accidentally killed by Lucy Day upstairs at the pub, after he had tried to rape Eileen. The story became even more complicated as Eileen's son she had adopted out, Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor (Family Affairs)

Sam Taylor was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Leon Ockenden from May to December 2004.-Fictional character biography:...

 (Leon Ockenden

Leon Ockenden

Leon Ockenden is a British actor who has played supporting roles in a number of television dramas since 2003. He grew up in the resort town of Looe, in Cornwall starring in plays at his school before pursuing a career in acting....

), had made a reappearance in her life. Sam was Eileen's son from a previous relationship with Mike. Pete secretly learned that Eileen and Mike had set the fire in an attempt to frame him for arson, and he plotted a slow and satisfying revenge.

Meanwhile, another series of new characters were brought in to remould Family Affairs once again. Undoubtedly the most significant of these were the Costello family. Gary Costello (Gary Webster

Gary Webster

Gary Webster is an English actor.He first found fame in EastEnders playing Graham Clark from 1987 until 1988. He later became better known for playing Ray Daley in the television series Minder, replacing Dennis Waterman as George Cole's on-screen sparring partner in the series...

) was a businessman who lost a lot money in a failed business deal, and was forced to move from a far more expensive neighbourhood in Chigwell

Chigwell

Chigwell is a civil parish and town in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 11.6 miles north east of Charing Cross. It is served by two London Underground stations and has a London area code.-Etymology:According to P. H...

, Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 to the comparatively modest Stanley Street, much to the shame and embarrassment of his snobbish, socialite wife Chrissy (Kazia Pelka

Kazia Pelka

Kazia Pelka is a British actress. She trained at the LAMDA where she was awarded the Wilfred Foulis prize...

). Their daughters, teenager Melanie

Melanie Costello

Melanie Costello was a fictional character in the UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Rebecca Hunter from September 2003 until May 2005. Melanie returned in December 2005 for the final week of the series.-Arrival:...

 (Rebecca Hunter

Rebecca Hunter

Rebecca Hunter, sometimes credited as Becky Hunter , is a British actress and singer.Hunter has a diploma in acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She is best known for playing Melanie Costello on the five soap opera Family Affairs between 2003 and 2005...

) and Chloe (Leah Coombes

Leah Coombes

Leah Coombes is a British actress, best known for having played Chloe Costello in the soap opera Family Affairs. Other roles have included parts in Kingdom, Trial and Retribution, Dustbin Baby and Doctors....

), were more concerned about leaving behind their school friends. The family was later joined by Gary's dependable mother Myra (Kate Williams).

Other important newcomers in 2003 included the fractious Boulter family who opened a restaurant on the site of Roy's destroyed café. They consisted of moody, judgemental father Les Boulter, caring mother Denise who harboured a secret about a long-ago affair, closeted bisexual son Brendan, and teenage daughter Kelly. Also moving in to Stanley Street was a young 'couple' comprising nurse Tanya Woods

Tanya Woods

Tanya Barbara Magarita Woods was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Carol Starks from 2003 until 2005 several months before the end of the series.-Character Information:...

 (Carol Starks

Carol Starks

Carol Starks is a British actress.She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and landed her first role with the National Theatre in 'Sweeney Todd'. She later found wider audiences through her ongoing role in soap opera Family Affairs, playing nurse Tanya Woods from 2003 to 2005...

) and her gay best friend Sean Steel (Sam Barriscale

Sam Barriscale

Sam Barriscale is an actor and writer.His early notable work includes playing the character of John Archer in The Archers for 11 years....

). Another new arrival, Doug MacKenzie (Gareth Hale

Gareth Hale

Gareth Hale is an English comedian and actor, born 15 January 1953, in Hedon, Yorkshire, who is best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace with his friend and comic partner Norman Pace....

), became Cat's third husband, while his womanising son Marc (Michael Wildman

Michael Wildman

Michael Wildman is a British actor who appeared in the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He played the role of aggressive, feisty centaur Magorian, who plays a small part in the eventual outcome of the plot....

; later Graham Bryan) married Yasmin. Meanwhile Doug's younger son and Marc's half-brother Justin (Ryan Davenport

Ryan Davenport

Ryan Davenport is a Canadian skeleton racer who competed from 1993 to 1999. He won three medals in the men's skeleton event at the FIBT World Championships with two golds and one bronze ....

) provided comic relief as the local clown, however no one was laughing when his fling with Kelly Boulter led to an unplanned pregnancy. Kelly went on to have the child, and the couple began living together.

Later storylines

With the new cast members in place storylines in 2004 focused on the new characters through several major storylines. During one of the many marital upsets that characterised the Costello household, daughter Chloe retreated upstairs and rifled through older sister Melanie's possessions, finding a stash of MDMA. She took several of the pills which made her ill. Hospital tests revealed the source of the illness, but also suggested she might also have cancer, and further tests were ordered. In the public outpouring of sympathy and support for the family, Chrissie finally found acceptance in the neighbourhood. When tests showed Chloe did not have cancer, Chrissie failed to report this fact, convincing Chloe to maintain a pretence of illness as a "little game". Unfortunately the lie took hold, leading to many months of Chrissie deceiving the community and her own family, convincing everyone that Chloe was undergoing chemotherapy. When Eileen saw them out shopping when Chloe was purportedly in hospital, and after picking up on other hints, she voiced her suspicion that Chrissie was faking Chloe's illness. Eileen was ostracised by the community for several weeks, with no one believing her. Chrissie's pretence continued several more weeks until a suspicious Tanya removed Chloe's bandages to reveal that there were no injection wounds at all.

Tanya herself was pregnant to her gay best friend and flatmate Sean: as platonic friends with little prospect of parenthood presenting itself, they planned to become parents together and Tanya had undergone in vitro fertilisation

In vitro fertilisation

In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...

. Brendan Boulter would soon become engaged to Melanie Costello and go on to marry her, while conducting an affair with Sean. Denise Boulter had been largely ostracised by her outraged daughter and husband after the truth about her long-ago affair with Caleb came to light. However they eventually reconciled their differences, although Brendan would leave town to escape his own problems.

Gary and Chrissie's marriage had faltered, leading to their separation, but the family endured its lowest ebb when Chloe Costello was sexually abused by a family friend, Bradley Foster (Harry Capehorn). The Boulter's marriage was again tested when Denise was raped by an unseen assailant. She later accused local taxi driver Graham Harker (Lee Warburton

Lee Warburton

Lee Warburton is a British actor, known for several ongoing television roles.He appeared in Coronation Street as Tony Horrocks, Natalie Barnes' drug addict son, played gay male nurse Tony Vincent in Casualty and its spin-off Holby City in 2003, and played Melanie Costello's violent boyfriend...

) of the crime, despite a total lack of evidence, and the Boulter family began hounding him, seeking revenge. Graham started a romance with Melanie who became his sole supporter.

Gary and Chrissy Costello eventually reconciled and Gary proposed on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

 2004. Melanie had earlier refused to attend their remarriage ceremony due to clashes with her parents over her relationship with Graham; on the day of the ceremony however Melanie had learned that their suspicions had been correct and that he was a dangerous rapist. Her absence was actually due to his holding her captive in his flat. Melanie was able to enlist Denise's help escaping from Graham. These events would see him brought to justice however repercussions from these events would also lead to the Boulter's marriage disintegrating, and Les and Denise both left Charnham.

Meanwhile at The Black Swan emerged a recurring villain capable even of rivalling Pete: the psychotic Trish Wallace

Trish Wallace

Patricia Wallace was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Gabrielle Glaister. She first arrived in Charnham in 2004. She left in 2005; after being shot by Pete Callan during a siege at The Black Swan, Trish was hospitalized and then jailed....

 (Gabrielle Glaister

Gabrielle Glaister

Gabrielle Glaister is an English actress.-Early life:She was a school friend of Ben Elton at Godalming Grammar School on Tuesley Lane in Godalming, Surrey; Glaister was in the year below Elton...

). An unnerved Eileen was being blackmailed by someone who threatened to reveal to Pete that Eileen herself had framed him for arson. Pete in fact knew this already and he and Eileen endured several tumultuous story twists as they schemed and plotted against the other. This culminated in the dramatic 2000th episode in late 2004 where Pete threw Eileen into the River Thames. Pete's eventual comeuppance followed an armed showdown between Pete, Trish and Eileen in September 2005. Pete was shot dead after a shootout with S019 Officers (in a final act of Suicide by cop

Suicide by cop

Suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer or other armed individual, such as being shot to death....

).

Several other characters, including Sadie, Dave and Lucy, were one by one written out of the series as Alison Davis ended her reign to be replaced by ex-Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

 producer Sean O'Connor. O'Connor quickly outlined his plans for the show, including a name change and many new younger, more glamorous characters. However his plans were cut short by the announcement soon after his arrival that Five would not be renewing the series for 2006. This timing resulted in numerous barely known new characters populating the final episodes, making the finale all the more challenging to pull off effectively.

Final episode

The final episode of Family Affairs was broadcast on the 30 December 2005 in the UK and on the 29 June 2007 in Australia and New Zealand. 1.3 million people tuned in to watch the final in the UK.

The episode revolved mainly around the lead up to the Stanley Street New Year's Eve party and the wedding of Nathan and Eve Fletcher. During the last half hour, Eileen returned and announced she had won the lottery

National Lottery (United Kingdom)

The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...

 and was now very wealthy; she also bought a house for the Costello family. Yasmin and Damian kissed and announced themselves as being a couple. Dr Hector Price and George finally became a couple after a falling out with nurse and flatmate Meridith. Babs Woods' long time boyfriend Howard returned.

The final episode also featured the murder of Hester by her brother Rex Randell, after barmaid Katie saw footage of Rex murdering his late wife. After the murder Rex faced up to Katie; the outcome of the showdown was not shown.

The final scene saw most of the cast of characters celebrating the New Year. Katie and Rex and Cat and Doug were absent: Katie was in the pub with Rex and Doug had split from his long-term wife Cat, moments before.

Storylines

The show generally concentrated on family-based storylines and marital upsets, although more extreme storylines involving murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

, rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

, prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

, blackmail

Blackmail

In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...

, drug use

Recreational drug use

Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...

, and brother-sister incest

Incest

Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

uous relationships have also occurred. Perhaps most significantly, Family Affairs has often been acclaimed for its constant inclusion of minority groups, having featured a higher density of gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 and lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

 characters over its history than any other British soap. It has also been praised for its treatment and integration of characters from ethnic minorities, notable examples of which include the inimitable Yasmin, who had been with the show for seven years at its final episode in December, and the more recent addition of a gay Muslim character, Sami Shafiq (Hosh Kane).

Family Affairs also went to unprecedented lengths in its treatment of the controversial issue of child abuse; in 2005 the soap won its first British Soap Award for a storyline in which young Chloe Costello (Leah Coombes

Leah Coombes

Leah Coombes is a British actress, best known for having played Chloe Costello in the soap opera Family Affairs. Other roles have included parts in Kingdom, Trial and Retribution, Dustbin Baby and Doctors....

) was sexually abused by a family friend, Bradley Foster (Harry Capehorn). The storyline, backed by the NSPCC

NSPCC

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...

, aimed to destroy some unhelpful stereotypes about what we expect a paedophile to be like. Partly as a result of the storyline, Kazia Pelka, who played Chloe's mother Chrissy, also won the award for Best Dramatic Performance, culminating in a double victory for the show.

Production notes

Prior to the establishment of the outdoor Stanley Street set, most of the location footage was shot in West London. The Lock and its surrounding areas were filmed at Yeading Marina, shots of the town centre of Charnham were in Uxbridge

Uxbridge

Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...

, and wooded areas featured Ruislip

Ruislip

Ruislip is a suburban area, centred on an old village in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.It was formerly also a parish covering the neighbouring areas of Eastcote, Northwood, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip in the area. The parish appears in the Domesday Book, and...

, Denham

Denham

- People :* Carl Denham, fictional character from King Kong* Daryl Denham, British radio DJ* Digby Denham, Australian politician* Dixon Denham, British explorer* Henry Denham, British printer* Henry Mangles Denham, , Royal navy...

 and Iver

Iver

Iver is in the south-east corner of the English county of Buckinghamshire and it forms one of the largest civil parishes in the South Bucks district.Iver railway station is in Richings Park.-Etymology:...

 among others. The houses seen in exterior shots were in Hayes

Hayes, Hillingdon

Hayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...

, Uxbridge

Uxbridge

Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...

, and other parts of west London. In the early episodes scenes were sometimes filmed near a railway viaduct; this was Wharncliffe Viaduct

Wharncliffe Viaduct

The Wharncliffe Viaduct is a brick-built viaduct that carries the Great Western Main Line railway across the Brent Valley, between Hanwell and Southall, Ealing, UK, at an elevation of . The viaduct, built in 1836-7, was constructed for the opening of the Great Western Railway...

 in Hanwell, West London.

Several episodes made heavy use of the police station sets of ITV1

ITV1

ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...

's police drama The Bill

The Bill

The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...

, made by the same TV production company. The words "Sun Hill" were removed from the front of the police station for the Family Affairs shoot. In similar fashion, the hospital sets used for St Hugh's on the Bill were also used for Family Affairs' own hospital, St. David's.

External links

• In-depth audio interview with David Easter (Pete Callan)