The main characters in
My Family are parents Ben and Susan Harper. They have three children, Nick, Janey and Michael. Nick is a regular character until the
2003 Christmas special, and makes one appearance in 2004's
fifth series before making his final
My Family appearance in the
2005 Comic Relief short as actor Kris Marshall wanted to do other projects and avoid being type-cast. Janey is a regular until the
2002 Christmas special and does not appear in
series four (2003), while the character is at university. Janey returns as a main character in
series five. Abi Harper first appears in
series three as the daughter of Ben's cousin Richard. Series three also sees the first appearance of Roger Bailey, Jnr. Roger, who becomes a main character in the
fourth series, is a dentist and the son of Ben's former mentor. In the
2005 Christmas special Alfie Butts, a friend of Nick's, moves into the Harper household. •
Zoë Wanamaker (2000–11) portrays
Susan Harper. Susan Harper is a control freak and very good at getting her way. She is constantly worried about her three children and often forces Ben to go out of his way to monitor or look after them. Susan is a
tour guide but seems to spend most of her time at home. She is a terrible
cook. This is a homage to
Butterflies, in which the male lead is also a dentist called Ben and the rest of the family often have to sneak the food she has prepared into the bin without her noticing. •
Kris Marshall (2000–05) portrays
Nick Harper. Nick Harper is the oldest sibling. He is a
layabout who is constantly changing jobs – a self-employed stuntman one minute, a gorilla-o-gram the next, at one point a sperm-donor. Extremely laid-back, Nick cannot be trusted to look after money or handle important tasks. He was last seen moving into his own flat, and from phone conversations Ben and Susan have with him, he seems to be coping with living on his own. •
Daniela Denby-Ashe (2000–02; 2004–11) portrays
Janey Harper. Fashion-conscious, money-loving, boy-mad Janey spends all her time on the phone, switching boyfriends, or pestering Ben for shopping money. Whilst at
Manchester University (spending yet more of her dad's money) Janey got pregnant. She was expelled and returned home to once again take advantage of her parents. Susan does not seem to mind, as it means she now has
Kenzo Harper to look after. Before becoming Kenzo in 2006, Tayler Marshall portrayed a guest at Kenzo's third-birthday party in 2005.
Other characters •
Daisy Donovan portrays
Brigitte McKay, Ben Harper's dental assistant for the entire first series. She was known for her unique way of thinking and living, and often tried to offer Ben and his patients spiritual guidance. She often forgot to take phone messages for Ben and irritated him while he worked. She and Nick appeared to be attracted to each other. •
Chloe Bale portrays
Sasha, Janey's best friend in series 8–11. Storylines focused on the pair getting into trouble (usually instigated by Sasha). She was disliked by Ben, then by Janey until they became friends again. •
Maxine an
unseen character was Janey's best friend from school. Although she was never seen, it was hinted that Maxine was very much like Janey: popular, and fashion-conscious. Janey once admitted to Susan that she hung out with Maxine because Maxine's alleged "ugliness" made Janey look more beautiful. Janey was also jealous that Maxine's parents treated her with expensive designer labels. It is unknown if they kept in touch. •
Rosemary Leach portrays
Grace Riggs, Susan Harper's mother, known for her addiction to alcohol, especially
martinis. She and Susan have a cold relationship, and are locked in a constant psychological battle. Grace has had various boyfriends in the show and was the one who told Ben that Susan was married before she married him. She likes to make Susan feel guilty for not visiting her and often uses deceitful tactics to lure her over. Her own late mother, Mary, owned a highly-successful
brothel in London's West End. She first appeared in series two, played by Avril Elgar and credited as "Rebecca" (although she was not referred to by name in the episode). She did not reappear until Leach took up the role in series four. It was announced in the episode "A Decent Proposal" that she had died. •
Kevin Bishop portrays
Stupid Brian, Janey's boyfriend in the show's second series when he and Janey were still at school but he was getting into decorating. Although he lived up to the nickname 'Stupid Brian,' he was surprising apt at building a bookshelf for the Harpers' kitchen. •
Alex Dawson portrays
Hubert, Michael's best friend (it's unknown whether they're still in touch). Hubert was known for being very square but very smart. He once created a television remote that could gain 'free' access channels that required PINs for them. •
Andy Taylor portrays
Hotel Receptionist, appearing in five episodes. He appears in different hotels across the country as a hotel receptionist. Each time he encountered the Harper family he became more familiar with their dysfunctional antics. He once suspected that Susan was an escort and that Ben had a mistress. •
Nickolas Grace portrays
Mr. Casey, the Harpers' next-door neighbour, although he doesn't get along with them. Viewers first met him as a recent widower who had adopted a dog and named her Gemma. He also tried to scam Ben for money after Ben ran over this dog. •
Rachel Hyde-Harvey portrays
Fiona, Michael's girlfriend throughout the fourth series. She and Michael are caught in bed together but never had sex. They are also caught kissing in the airing cupboard, and in another scene they begin to take their clothes off but Susan is listening and says they should stop. •
Nathan Brine portrays
Scott Marsh in series 10. Scott is Michael's first boyfriend. In his first appearance, Ben accidentally outed him to his homophobic father and he was forced to leave home. Susan invited him to live at the house, but Michael and Scott moved into a new flat instead. A few episodes later, it was revealed that Scott and Michael had split up, although they got back together in the same episode.
Guest cast My Family has used several actors from various past hit sitcoms, most notably
David Haig from
The Thin Blue Line,
Belinda Lang of
2point4 Children,
Diana Weston (Robert Lindsay's former long-term partner) from
The Upper Hand who portrayed a
trans woman named Charlie,
Pauline Quirke of
Birds of a Feather played a bank robber (whilst her husband in
Birds of a Feather was a bank robber), and
Sam Kelly from
On the Up. •
Anna Crilly •
John Barrowman •
David Haig •
Beatriz Batarda •
Kevin Bishop •
Barbara Keogh •
Dani Harmer •
Belinda Lang •
Rosemary Leach •
Sylvestra Le Touzel •
Peter Capaldi •
Frances Barber •
Anne Robinson •
Sally Bretton •
Trevor Peacock •
Jan Francis •
Gerard Horan •
Michael Obiora •
Preeya Kalidas •
Christopher Ryan •
Daisy Donovan •
Vicki Pepperdine •
Mac McDonald •
Emma Amos •
Nickolas Grace • Andy Taylor •
Rolf Harris •
Jamie Foreman •
Anthony Head •
Danny Webb •
Anna Chancellor •
Ben Jones •
Eric Sykes •
Lucy Punch •
Pauline Quirke •
Perry Benson •
Diana Weston •
Lorraine Chase •
Jeremy Clyde •
Richard Whiteley •
Robert Webb •
Edna Doré •
Sam Kelly •
Morgana Robinson •
Paul Bown •
Ainsley Harriott •
Russ Abbot •
Clive Rowe •
Jay Simon •
John Challis •
Nathaniel Parker •
Julian Clary •
Rupert Vansittart •
Victoria Wicks •
Tony Selby •
Rupert Evans •
Clive Russell ==Episodes==