[1] The show was written by Paul Smith and Terry Kyan and ran for two series of six episodes (18 October – 22 November 1988 and 12 January – 16 February 1990).

By day he works in a dead-end job for the now defunct British Rail in their complaints department, whee he listens to, and attempts to appease, a combination of complainants and abusive customers.

He tries to do the right thing in the numerous situations he ends up in (being bored by friends' endless dreary dinner parties, finding a dead cat and returning it to its owner, going on holiday while continually fretting about leaving appliances on in his flat).

He is often conflicted and has a borderline depressive attitude to life – brought about in one episode by his colleague leaving British Rail for pastures new who encourages Colin to do the same.

The overarching plot of Series 1 has Colin submitting one of his few finished works to John Langley, a tough publisher who includes it in his anthology of horror short stories.