''2point4 Children'' is a

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced t ...

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porters, a seemingly average, working-class London family whose world is frequently turned upside-down by bad luck and bizarre occurrences. The show was originally broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

from 1991 to 1999, and ran for eight series, concluding on 30 December 1999 with the special episode "The Millennium Experience". Lead actor

Gary Olsen Gary Olsen (born Gary Kenneth Grant; 3 November 1957 – 12 September 2000) was an English actor. He played Ben in the BBC television sitcom ''2point4 Children''. Biography Olsen was born in London and lived with an aunt and uncle after b ...

(who played the father) died from cancer in September 2000. The show is regularly repeated in the UK. In Australia showings are on

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

. The name of the show comes from the stereotypical average size of a typical

nuclear family A nuclear family, elementary family, cereal-packet family or conjugal family is a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, the la ...

in the UK. The show regularly picked up audiences of up to 14 million throughout the 1990s, with an average of between 6 and 9 million. The final episode was viewed by 9.03 million people. In 1997 a remake of the show debuted in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

: ''Kees & Co'' starring

Simone Kleinsma Simone Kleinsma (born 8 May 1958) is a musical theatre actress in the Netherlands. Personal life On 5 June 1990, Simone married Guus Verstraete, a Dutch television director. Career Simone provided voice over work to numerous major animated fi ...

. The remake ran for eight seasons between 1997 and 2006. The first five seasons were adapted from the original English scripts, while the last three seasons featured original storylines and characters. In 2018 it was announced that the remake would return for a ninth season with Simone Kleinsma reprising her role.

Cast

Main characters

* Bill Porter (

Belinda Lang Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom ''2point4 Children'' ...

) * Ben Porter (

) * Jenny Porter (

Clare Woodgate Georgina Elaine Cates (born Clare Elaine Woodgate; 14 January 1975) is an English film and television actress. Life and career Born Clare Elaine Woodgate in Colchester, Essex, Cates attended Colchester County High School for Girls and broke i ...

, series 1 & 2; Clare Buckfield, series 3–8) * David Porter ( John Pickard) * Rona Harris (

Julia Hills Julia Hills (born 3 April 1957) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Rona in all eight series of the BBC sitcom ''2point4 Children''. She also portrayed various roles in Channel 4's first late night satirical sketch show '' W ...

) * Christine Atkins (Kim Benson, guest appearance series 1, regular series 2–8) * Aunt Belle, Bette – ( Liz Smith played both characters)

Supporting characters

* Tina (

Patricia Brake Patricia Ann Brake (25 June 1942 – 28 May 2022) was an English actress. From the age of 16, Brake trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, before joining the Salisbury Playhouse. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company where (among ...

, series 1;

Sandra Dickinson Sandra Dickinson (née Searles) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters who fell into the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice. Early life ...

, series 2–8) * Auntie Pearl (

Barbara Lott Barbara Dulcie Lott (15 May 1920 – 19 December 2002) was a British actress probably best remembered as Ronnie Corbett's character's mother, Phyllis Lumsden in the BBC television sitcom '' Sorry!''. She also appeared in ''Coronation Street' ...

) * Gerry (Leonard O'Malley) * Tony (Tom Roberts) * Dora Grimes (

Annette Kerr Catherine Annette Kerr Peacock (2 July 192023 September 2013), known professionally as Annette Kerr, was a Scottish born actress of film, television and stage. Life and career During her childhood, Kerr moved with her family from her birthplace ...

) * Adam ( Paul Raffield) * Jake 'The Klingon' Klinger (

Roger Lloyd-Pack Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was an English actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in '' The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later st ...

, series 3–6)

Plot summary

The Porters are a working-class family who live in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and ...

, London who at first seem normal enough. Bill is the sensible, level-headed mother who does the cooking and housework whilst working for a bakery with her highly sexed best friend Rona. Ben is the father, who is often just as immature as the children. He runs a heating repair business with his moody and sarcastic assistant Christine. Jenny is the typical teenage daughter, keen on boys, music and vegetarianism, and David is the mischievous younger brother, who enjoys horror films, aliens and annoying his older sister. However, the Porters' world is frequently upended by bizarre occurrences and bad luck. Whether it is dealing with flatulent dogs, a frozen body in a freezer in the front room, or even stumbling across a warehouse filled with

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

's cast-off ballgowns, anything seems possible in the Porters' world. Traditionally Christmas episodes would feature characters collectively performing a musical number.

Episodes

The show originally ran from 1991 to 1999. 56 episodes were made over eight series, including six Christmas specials in which the cast performed carols or original theme songs. Although the series was made over the course of eight years, the show's in-universe timeline appears to be much shorter, with Jenny Porter stated to be 14 in series one, yet only just starting university at age 18 in the final series. Andrew Marshall wrote all of the episodes, except for three in series seven which were written by Paul Alexander, Simon Braithwaite and

Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...

Home media

BBC Enterprises released a video in 1993, comprising the first three episodes of the series, which are known as: ''Leader of the Pack'', ''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'', and ''When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Go Shopping''. The first three series were released on Region 2 DVD by Eureka Video in 2005. A box set of the first three series was also made available in 2008, again through Eureka Video, with music changes within the episodes. Eureka Video stated that "sales were not good" and they released no further series. 2Entertain, part of BBC Worldwide, say they have tried many times to license the series for distribution by a third party but the high clearance costs for music and imagery used has been the main deterrent. A Facebook page to campaign for a release has existed since 2009. The series was added to

Britbox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

on 16th December, 2021 In March 2022, all 56 episodes were made available on the BBC iPlayer for one year.

References

External links

* * Comedy Guide *
''2point4 children''
at Phill.co.uk Comedy Guide * * {{DEFAULTSORT:2point4 Children 1991 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms Chiswick English-language television shows Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about marriage Television series about siblings Television shows set in London