All eight episodes of the surreal comedy drama centred around a man with a very unusual hobby

Newly graduated from university, Alex Fisher returns home depressed and suffering from existential angst. But when his father encourages him to make himself useful by killing the snails in the garden Alex has an epiphany. Instead of murdering them, he will save them – and soon, he has a whole escargatoire of snails, all named after celebrities, crawling over the carpet, climbing the walls and hanging off the lampshades.

Alex’s mum, Beverley, is concerned, and tries to cheer him up with home-made ‘nice things’, like a big cuddly snail. However, her husband George, a Professor of Symbolics, is fascinated with his son’s obsession, and decides to make him the subject of his next book. Meanwhile, his sister Rose has her own issues to deal with – her heart’s in the wrong place, pressed up against her armpit, and she could drop dead at any moment...

This offbeat sitcom about a middle-class family going quietly mad was written by Gerard Foster (Horrible Histories), who also stars as Alex. Co-starring are Geoffrey Palmer, Angela Thorne, Debra Stephenson and Miranda Hart, appearing here in her very first BBC comedy role.

Production credits
Written by Gerard Foster
Produced by Jane Berthoud

George – Geoffrey Palmer
Beverley – Angela Thorne
Alex – Gerard Foster
Rose – Miranda Hart
Colette – Magali Domec
Gary/Leboeuf/Jeff – Dave Lamb
Hosanna – Debra Stephenson
Roger – Richie Webb
Yates – Tim Verrinder

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26 June-17 July 2001 (Series 1), 18 July-8 August 2002 (Series 2)