Ralph Breeze lives with his wife Iris and children Eric, Carol and Billy in the Byker Wall area of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Ralph attends assertiveness classes to help him overcome his condition and, although Iris is supportive, his children – particularly Eric – are pretty indifferent to the point of cruelty (all for comic effect).
Season 1, Episode 1: Angels Original Air Date: 4 March 2002 Ralph has lost his eyes and, on being told by Iris that they are in his head where he left them, he realises that there is not as much to see as there used to be.
Season 1, Episode 3: Saturday, Sinday Original Air Date: 18 March 2002 After a heavy night out, looking for a poke, Eric ends up in a fight.
When confessing to his family about his indiscretion, he reminisces about when he was a working man at the Swan Hunter shipyard, coming home every night with "sweat rings the size of dinner plates".