Can't a gentleman meet Bonnie Langford, be unusually courteous and want a simple massage without insinuations that he is gay? How very dare you.

Foul-mouthed Nan Taylor makes her first television appearance, poor Elaine Figgis' streak of bad luck in love has become as wide as a motorway, and we haven't even mentioned Lauren.

The show began in 2004, bringing relief to catchphrase-lovers the world over fed up with the old staples "I'm a lady", "Brilliaaaant!" and "Don't tell him, Pike".

Tate's motley crew of characters included Margaret, the woman who jumps at the most everyday of noises; Bernie the Irish nurse; and Aga Saga Woman, who has to deal with daily traumas like when Daddy "couldn't find any good brie" on a business trip to France.

By the time the second series aired in the summer of 2005, celebrity fans like Peter Kay, Una Stubbs and Paul Whitehouse were queuing for a cameo. New characters joined the "cast", including the extremely tactless Allie and unorthodox dog trainer Moo Shepherd.

The third series, first broadcast in the autumn of 2006, will be the last, but following a Christmas special that's not to say that's the last we've seen of Lauren, Nan and the others...