Lee Mack’s multi-award-winning hit show, and longest running sitcom on air, returns for a new series on BBC One this June.

We return to the suburban chaos of Lee (Lee Mack) and Lucy (Sally Bretton) as they’re asked to cover for uptight ice-queen Anna (Abigail Cruttenden) as she allegedly attends ‘secret’ Italian lessons.  Lee is immediately convinced Anna is up to no good and, having to lie to his best friend Toby (Hugh Dennis), is not-so-slowly spiralling into an anxious mess.  As ever when there’s a delicate situation that needs sensitive handling, Lee could approach it cautiously… or go full sleuth in a bid to personally crack the case!

The series continues around the anarchy of a packed family life with the couple crashing from one near-disaster to the next (see episode synopses below).  Usually close at hand are Lucy’s lovely mum Wendy (Deborah Grant) and curmudgeonly dad Geoffrey (Geoffrey Whitehead), and we know very well what they think about their daughter’s wisecracking husband.

Produced by Avalon, Not Going Out is directed by Nick Wood and produced by Jamie Rix. The Executive Producers are Richard Allen-Turner, Rob Aslett, Lee Mack and Jon Thoday. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Gregor Sharp.

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What the press said about the last series…

“Heading towards a record for sitcom longevity as well as apparently aiming to break its own record for gags per minute.”
James Jackson, The Times

“The one-liner is a dying art. Most new sitcoms are too stuck-up and right- on to include genuinely funny jokes. Lee Mack is the greatest living exponent, able to cram whole stories into a dozen words … But new episodes of Mack’s comedy Not Going Out are a rare event now, and there’s no obvious contender to take its place.”
Christopher Stevens, The Daily Mail

“The cast of Lee Mack’s sitcom makes any silly plot sparkle – a small ensemble of actors who seem to be having great fun”
Sara Wallis, The Mirror

“From the theme song onwards, you know what to expect from the sitcom starring Lee Mack and Sally Bretton… There’s the clever wordplay we are also used to and the farcical plots expertly delivered by the cast.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i Newspaper

“Lee Mack has funny bones and enough of his zippy one-liners hit the mark to keep this long-running sitcom at the top of our must-see list.”
Mike Ward, The Daily Star

“reliably funny”
Keith Watson, Metro

“Lee Mack’s old-school comedy show crackles with his super-snappy wit” ★★★★
Jason Arnopp, Heat

“a road-tested one-liner for every daft incident.”
Graeme Virtue, The Guardian/The Observer

“Lee Mack’s reliably amusing half hour of comic farce”
Helen Stewart, The Sunday Times

“Only Basil Fawlty could get himself into as much bother as Lee when he embarks on a downward spiral of fibs”
Kate Noble, The Sun

“a tissue of absurdities unfolds enjoyably — and with some fine, old-school jokes”
David Butcher, The Radio Times

“As reliably entertaining as ever, with more gags than you can shake a tentpole at.”
Jill Pelton, TV Times

★★★★
Mike Mulvihill, The Daily Mail

“very funny”
David Butcher, The Radio Times

For more information, images or interview requests, please contact:
Dan Lloyd or Lucy Plosker at Avalon on DLloyd@avalonuk.com or LPlosker@avalonuk.com

Series 13 Episodes

 Ep 1 – Italian Lessons

When Lee and Lucy are asked to cover for Anna on more than one occasion, so that she can go out at night and have secret Italian Lessons they suspect the worst, that she is having an affair. Lee decides that it is up to him to tell Toby that his marriage is in jeopardy and sets about finding the evidence.

Ep 2 – Hospital 

Lee’s lifestyle catches up on him and he is forced to wait on a hospital ward for routine surgery on his gallbladder until his blood pressure comes down. But visits from the parents in law and Anna and Toby, who arrive to ask him a question he doesn’t want to hear, ensure that his stress levels remain dangerously high.

Ep 3 – Day Out 

To take advantage of three free tickets to Adventure Canyon Theme Park Lee takes Mollie out of school for a day and gets into trouble from the new head teacher, Miss Anstis. Now all he has to do is think of an excuse to justify Mollie’s absence and what could be simpler than a trip to the dentist.

Ep 4 – Coffin 

Lee wakes up inside a coffin and can’t remember how he got there, until a phone call from Lucy reminds him what he’d been doing that afternoon. Now all he needs to do is keep Lucy in the dark as to his exact location and work out how to escape.

Ep 5 – Train

It is Lucy’s birthday. To celebrate, Geoffrey and Wendy take Lee, Lucy, Toby and Anna for a trip on a vintage steam train. But Lee decides to play Poirot when a stranger turns up unannounced in their carriage and Lucy’s special day is ruined.

Ep 6 – Beep

Lucy has cooked a special meal so that she and Lee can spend an evening in without distractions, talking about the state of their marriage. But Lee is obsessed with a beeping noise in the house that he can’t find and the food is soon forgotten.

Ep 7 – Football

When Lee goes to watch Benji playing football for a local Under 13 team, he is unable to restrain himself on the touchline and becomes the competitive dad that all the other parents avoid. Undaunted by the disapproval of Toby, who coaches the team, Lee sets about rigging the vote for the Player of the Year.