; James Shelley : Portrayed by
Hywel Bennett : Shelley (or Perce) is the protagonist. He is a terminal layabout who is usually unemployed. He is qualified with a
Ph.D. in
geography. For a brief time he worked as an advertising executive (only to leave over a point of principle). He was later hired by the
Foreign Office, only to be made redundant before his starting date. Shelley is obdurate, argumentative, and awkward; he has a wry, sardonic wit. He espouses
left wing socially liberal views, but he is often shown to have
reactionary tendencies, and may be something of a hypocrite. Shelley is usually honest about his unemployment and poor work ethic, though occasionally he likes to obscure it by claiming he is 'paid by the government' or is 'in leisure'. He once described his occupation as 'a government artist' because 'I draw the dole'. ; Frances Shelley (née Smith) : Portrayed by
Belinda Sinclair : Fran is Shelley's longsuffering girlfriend and, later, wife. She is an aspiring writer. Like Shelley, she is educated but unemployed. She is one of the few people who can counter Shelley's more fanciful and obtuse arguments. In the first series she becomes pregnant with Shelley's child; in the second, she publishes a book and marries Shelley; in the third, she gives birth to a daughter, Emma. The beginning of the fifth series reveals that she has left Shelley; she appears in only one episode, and ceases to be a central character. ; Edna Hawkins (Mrs H.) : Portrayed by
Josephine Tewson : Mrs H. is a somewhat waspish and prim landlady who lets a
West Hampstead bedsit to Shelley and Fran in series one and two. She has a son named Colin, and she refers often to Willy, an unseen husband whom she has apparently coerced into working days and nights. She is suspicious of Shelley, and she disapproves of his languid lifestyle. She shows little restraint in verbally attacking him, even though she may be left browbeaten by his eloquence. Her attitude toward Shelley softens over time, however. ; Paul England : Portrayed by
Warren Clarke : Shelley's closest friend and
best man (after being let down by the alcoholic Ned). Paul is a loyal friend to Shelley. Unlike Shelley, he is an industrious man with a successful career. Even so, some of his lifestyle choices betray moral failings (for instance, evidently he solicits prostitutes). Although coarser than Shelley, he doesn't attract the disdain from establishment figures that Shelley does, owing to his charm and self-restraint. He lets his flat to Shelley in series five. ; Mrs Radcliffe : Portrayed by
Madoline Thomas : An elderly widow who rents a bedsit downstairs from Shelley and Fran. She seems to enjoy a cordial relationship with Shelley, but she believes Fran to be a 'doxy', and landlady Mrs H. to be a murderess who killed her first husband. She appears only in series two and three. ; Desmond : Portrayed by
Garfield Morgan : A pompous warden in the flats to which Shelley moves in series five. He is envious of the educated Shelley, believing him to be typical of a privileged generation which has grown up in a society where education is attainable by the masses. He has an unrealistic appraisal of his own intelligence, and he fancies himself an amateur poet. He believes that his abilities could have been recognised had he enjoyed the educational privileges of Shelley. ; Isobel Shelley : Portrayed by
Sylvia Kay : Shelley's mother, who is only 16 years older than her son. Like him, Isobel is outspoken and argumentative. Her political views border on
communism, and she lives a fairly nonconformist lifestyle. She smokes cannabis, which she grows for herself throughout her flat (which makes Shelley worry that she'll be discovered and imprisoned). She berates Shelley as an 'evil little capitalist'. Despite her sharp tongue, she has a kinder side: re-mortgages her flat so that Shelley and Fran can buy a house.
Minor characters ; Cyril : Portrayed by
John Barron : Shelley's pompous and ineffectual boss at the advertising firm Harper Mackintosh. Cyril is an old-fashioned, self-important. He is detached from the realities of both the company he runs and of contemporary life. (Compare the character CJ, whom Barron previously portrayed in
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.) ; Ramond "Ned" Kelly : Portrayed by
David Pugh : Ned is Shelley's first choice for best man, even though Fran dislikes him intensely. Ned is an irresponsible alcoholic who is often involved in pub brawls. He is aware that he is slowly drinking himself to death. Although he only appears in one episode, he is mentioned several times thereafter, and is addressed on the telephone. ==List of episodes==