The radio programme was a mixture of fast-moving skits, impressions and sketches, linked by snatches of the band's signature tune "We Are the Grumbleweeds".
Recurring sketches included 'Trouble at T'Mill' (a comedic parody of a working-class drama set in a Yorkshire mill at the turn of the 20th century), 'Oh Amanda' (a romantic soliloquy performed by Colvill to his fictional partner Amanda with a suitably humorous punchline) and a parody of Radio 4's Book at Bedtime, where a soft-spoken narrator would attempt to read a story in spite of mounting technical problems such as constantly failing transmitter power, and would end the sketch yelling at the top of his voice in order to be heard.
The following three radio series, running from 1986 to 1988, were produced in a half-hour sitcom format, which was largely an extension of the Family Grumbleweed sketch from the earlier incarnation of the radio show, with scripts still mostly written by Mike Craig and often featuring cameos from other contemporary light entertainment favourites such as Mollie Sugden, Jimmy Cricket, Paul Shane and Stuart Hall.
A number of new characters were introduced, amongst them the vagrant Ratface, the spluttering, lisping entrepreneur Sid Squeak and his partner-in-crime Stanley Bubble.
The remaining trio secured a new radio slot, Someone and the Grumbleweeds, with sketches mostly written by ex-Morecambe and Wise scriptwriter Eddie Braben and featuring a different celebrity guest each week.
A new studio set, built in 1986 for the hour-long special, made a full time appearance and the group's self-performed theme song "We Are the Grumbleweeds" was replaced with a big band version.