The dad of the family, Pete tries his hardest to organise his family but often finds himself over-run by his children.

Pete is slightly hopeless. He's a bit confused and life seems to have taken him, rather than it being him who dictates the direction in which it goes.

He teaches history in an inner city school, where a typical school holiday sees five arrested, two become pregnant and one pupil shot. He's clearly very frustrated by the lack of interest his pupils show in learning about history.

Pete's natural wit and his in-ability to keep jokes to himself has got him in trouble on more than one occasion. Following an ill-judged joke involving obesity and Ramadan, Pete finds his job in jeopardy.

Having been bullied himself as a kid, Pete is worried that his son Jake is going through a similar thing at his new school.

Hard-working and beleaguered mum Sue does her best to cope with the three young kids but almost always finds the odds are stacked against her.

When not trying to organise her three offspring Sue can be found trying to deal with her very demanding boss. It seems that Veronica always phones or emails at the least suitable time but, for some reason, even if it is supposed to be her 'day off' Sue is too polite to tell her to go away... well, until near the end of the series anyway.

Sue clearly has issues with her sister Angela. Whenever she is given the chance, Sue will find a reason to have a snide dig at her hippy sister - much to the annoyance of Pete who has clearly heard it all a hundred times before. Her official reason for resenting Angela is that she was selfish for disappeared to America shortly after their mum's funeral - however much of it is probably actually down to jealously and feeling displaced now that she is no longer so needed by her dad. At the end of the series it turns out Sue probably had a valid point about her sister though.

Eleven-year-old Jake is wise beyond his years - he seems to know about everything. The trouble with having so much knowledge is that Jake frequently manages to bring a halt to a conversation by recalling a newspaper's scare-mongering story related to whatever they're talking about - whether it be contracting bird flu or the chance a particle physics laboratory creating a black hole that will destroy the world.

Jake is almost always seen plugged into a laptop or iPod - the gadgets acting as a good distraction from his bickering family.

Having just started a new school, Jake is clearly more scared about what lies ahead than he is letting on. There are suspicions that Jake is struggling to make friends at secondary school and is being bullied, however when probed by his dad he always responds that he is fine.

Seven-year-old Ben has developed an extraordinary talent for lying - a character trait that his parents are clearly worried about. They actually have good reason to be concerned about his fibbing as it is causing them a few headaches. For example, at a school football match the other parents compliment Pete on his friendship with Gordon Brown, his SAS training and how he is so bravely fighting cancer!

Ben is a very stubborn child - he often refuses to do what his parents tell him to - it seems to be a tactic that works as they eventually either give up or offer him a bribe to comply.

Ben is a fan of Arsenal football club and also Little Britain - the TV comedy show slightly un-suitable for his age group. He regularly pesters his parents to allow him to watch the comedy but is always tuned down.

Karen is Pete and Sue's regal five-year-old daughter. She has a talent for interrogation, often managing to ask an adult the most bizarre off-the-wall question which completely throws them off balance ("Dad... are shadows made of atoms?" being one example).

Some of Karen's innocent questions are actually rather probing and, if answered correctly, would be rather embarrassing for the adults involved.

Karen is of an age where she has an interest in everything... including nits. She wants to keep one as a pet!

Being five means that Karen doesn't yet subscribe to the 'being polite' social skills that adult's must endure - as a result Karen doesn't hide the fact she doesn't really like her Auntie Angela.

Sue's sister Angela is very 'new age' - she is into spiritual guides, dream catchers, feng shui etc.

Having spent a long time in America following their mother's death, Angela turns up un-expectedly at Sue and Pete's one day and, much to their surprise, announces that she is staying put for a while to look after their dad.

However it isn't long before Angela loses their dad at the zoo and is dumped by her boyfriend... leaving Sue to predict that it won't be long before she is 'running back to America'. Sue actually turns out to be right.

Angela wants to be popular with her niece and nephews and so often undermines Sue and Pete by buying them nice presents and giving them money and chocolate. Despite her bribery, only Ben actually seems to like her.

Sue and Angela's bewildered dad appears in episode three. Suffering from the early signs of dementia, Angela takes over caring for him when she returns from America.

Granddad spends most of his time in quiet contemplation; when he does speak it is normally to repeat a story he has already told before.