Daytime talk-show host Vivienne Vyle is a straight-talking protagonist. She is Ricki Lake, Jeremy Kyle and Dr Phil all rolled into one. But her ambition knows no bounds - she wants to be Oprah!

Flattened by a blundering security guard on set following a punch from a guest, Vivienne is hospitalised and begins to question her future as a talk-show host - until her manic producer, Helena, reveals that, following recent dramas, ratings have doubled. Cue an ever-more determined Vivienne who embarks on a quest to book the guests with the most tragic stories to tell - it isn't long before she is challenging and beating popular rival talk-show host Chris Connor.

Vivienne tries to connect with her fans however her obvious dislike of 'commoners' and her inability to empathise makes it somewhat of an impossible task for her.

Jared is Vivienne's supportive partner. He's quite camp and clearly has expensive tastes in life - for example he'll only drink the finest wine and wear tailored clothes.

The effete Jared is very much a 'yes' man, he agrees with everything Vivienne says and caters for his wife's every demand.

There are hints that Jared may be homosexual and his marriage to Vivienne is not a sexual one. This is confirmed when Vivienne's PR Miriam refers to a 'homosexual past' and Jared is caught attended a dubious party where a rent boy dies.

Jared likes karaoke and often can be seen impressively miming along in perfect synchronisation with the music.

Helena is The Vivienne Vyle Show's hyperactive, stressed producer. She is one of the only people who is able to tell Vivienne the truth.

Helena is endlessly creative in trying to get more outlandish behaviour from the guests on the talk show in the hope that the additional melodrama will boost viewing figures still further.

Her personal life is a complete mess - she has a young child who doesn't speak a word of English because the Spanish nanny spends more time at home than Helena does. During the series Helena sleeps with both Jonathan and Des.

Psychotherapist Dr Jonathan Fowler is a new recruit to the behind-the-scenes crew. He has been brought in to help the show cope with the influx of troubled visitors. He's mainly there to make the show look responsible and fulfil its insurance obligations - Vivienne and Helena clearly don't actually care about the mental welfare of their guests.

Jonathan makes it clear he is quite uncomfortable about some of the fragile people the show is putting in front of camera however, in the pursuit of ratings, his protests are ignored. He is not the most assertive of men.

Fowler clearly cares about the guests - often spending extra time at the studios trying to help resolve the guests' problems. Unfortunately the production office is not the best place to practice psychotherapy - his sessions are often interrupted by Helena.

As the series progresses though Dr Fowler starts to become less interested in helping the guests and more interested in how he appears on screen - he seems to have woken up to the idea he could get his own talk-show.

Carol is the sensible, cool, calm and collected Welsh floor manager.

It is Carol's job to get the audience interested in the show and ensure Vivienne looks in complete control when in front of the camera - quite a task considering some of the last-minute demands the star makes and un-scripted chnages in direction.

Des is the director of the show. He's clearly frustrated and doesn't really want to be working on this type of show, however he is staying put because it is at least paying the bills.

Certain members of the production team clearly visibly annoy Des - Helena's manic energy and tendency to try and take over the direction of the show is one irritant, and Dr Fowler's inability to grasp the technicalities of TV have got him on Des' hate list.

Despite hating those around him, Des never says anything to them - he quietly gets on with his job as he doesn't want any trouble.

Damien is the young researcher on the show. His job is to help find the best guests to put in front of the camera.

His duties extend far beyond that remit though - he can often be found helping to drum up some tension in the wings so that when the guests go on they will make good dramatic TV. Damien successfully got one guest so wound up that, when he was called on, he hit Vivienne.

Chris Connor is a rival chat-show host. He has a seamless interaction with the audience that Vivienne can't quite manage to reproduce.

Chris can be seen hugging his guests, telling funny jokes, prating about on the set and consoling those who break into tears. He also regularly goes into his audience to ask for their opinions - however when Vivienne tries the same thing on her show it ends in a silent disaster.

Chris won the TV Pick Award for best chat show host so many years in a row that people started to call them his awards - however things seem to be changing, this year, for the first time, Vivienne took the title.

Miriam is Vivienne's trans-gender PR who is re-employed after promo makers Joshua and Rosie fail to impress.

Miriam has not made a very convincing transformation into a woman - she still has some manly features and a deep voice. Nothing seems to put Miriam off her stride though - for example, she is happy to talk about what happened to her 'man parts'.

The PR expert talks at a hundred miles an hour, incessantly. She is totally oblivious to what is going on around her and doesn't spot Jared's obvious dislike (he calls her a 'freak' behind her back). However, when Jared is snapped attending the dodgy gay party he calls in Miriam who does a great job of keeping him out the papers.

Miriam oddly seems to be obsessed with ensuring every last expense incurred is paid for - she regularly refers to her taxi bills least Vivienne forgets to reimburse!