Main Characters
- Ben Miller as Howard Steel, the hapless male lead. A book publisher by trade, Howard continually puts himself in dreadful situations and makes things worse by trying to either put things right or explain what had happened.
- Sarah Alexander as Mel Cook, Howard's fiancee and then wife, who remains in love with him despite his mishaps. However, Mel (who works as a vet) gradually loses patience with him as the story arc in each series progresses.
- Alison Steadman as Angela Cook, Mel's mother. Her main role in life appears to be to entertain guests at her country home, regularly worrying about the impression that will be set following Howard-led problems. Regardless of Howards's faults, Angela often tries to see the good in him and is friendlier to Howard than Dick. Whereas Dick doesn't understand why Mel loves Howard, Angela can see that the pair love each other and in the series one finale, Angela defends Howard after Dick refuses to give him the car keys to rescue Mel.
- Geoffrey Whitehead as Dick Cook, a High Court judge and Mel's father. He has little time for Howard and struggles to understand why Mel wanted to marry him.
- Janine Duvitski as Eve, Howard's assistant. She devotes much of her life to her work and has little social life outside helping Howard.
- Ronald Pickup as Fraser Cook, Dick's brother. Obsessed by his days in the army, Fraser will regularly offer rather pointless advice about life. He is initially a closet homosexual but finally comes out (series 2) while in a relationship with his "travelling companion" Gerard (Terrence Hardiman).
Read more about this topic: The Worst Week Of My Life
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