Great Night Out

Paddy Hodgkinson, a.k.a. "Hodge", sees himself as the leader of the group, although his friends don't see him that way. He speaks with the voice of authority on most subjects, even though his knowledge is often lacking. He is very Humorous and lovable, Hodge often banters with both Beggsy and local pub landlord Warren. Whilst he thinks of himself as the man of the house, his penchant for avoiding responsibility and spending money leave his wife Kath in charge of their household. Boardman describes his character as "lovable and overweight",[2]

Matthew Begg, a.k.a. Beggsy, often rubs Hodge up the wrong way and winds him up. Overall though he's a friendly man, happy being single with the odd one night stand. Divorced for a year, he still pines after his ex-wife Mandy who left him a year ago, running off to Australia to live with her new husband Wayne and taking their eleven-year-old daughter Kelly with her. At the beginning of the series he's the only one without a partner and he's in a bit of a relationship funk.

Glyn Thwaite is a lovable underdog. He's a sensitive man and a nice hard-working guy who's unfortunately always one sentence behind and forever playing catch-up. Glynn works for "Mad Tony" who is known for his hot-temper; in episode 6 he has to look after Tony's house, but the lads decide to have a party there when Stockport County F.C. play Manchester United. He meets his high-school crush Julie played by Christine Bottomley, and yearns after her, but seems to embarrass himself every-time he attempts to talk to her, despite taking the advice of the others in the group. He eventually does win her heart and she becomes his girlfriend.

Darren Taylor, a.k.a. Daz, is the fourth member of the gang who is described as the eternal pessimist of the group. He's the first to pull Hodge up on his sometimes questionable fashion sense, and the first to put a negative on a situation. He often performs strange actions, such as climbing on the roof of a house in episode 2 and claiming it was 'tranquil'. In an on-again/off-again relationship with Colleen (Naomi Bentley), Daz can't seem to live with her as much as he can't live without her. Walters describes his character as "...an underdog, the eternal pessimist of the group".[2]

Hodge's wife Kath often has the final say with Hodge, who is intimidated by her, but they really do love each other. She works a stressful job at the local bowling alley during the day and many of Hodge's poor choices and mistakes in the evening. Stanton says of her character, "I play Mrs Hodge. It says in the script that I wear the trousers. I like to think it's more the shirt and tie and trousers and jacket".[2]

Naomi Bentley plays Colleen, Daz's long-suffering girlfriend.They share a very On-again, off-again relationship, and no-one can understand why they are still together. Bentley describes Daz and their on-screen relationship as: "He's just a miserable git really who's set in his ways and it drives Colleen crazy. They're like that couple that everyone knows - you can't understand why they're still together because one minute they're on, the next they're off and it's really passionate. Whether it's off or on they commit to whatever state they're in, so it's quite volatile. When we first meet them they're very much off." Quick and with a dry sense of humor, Colleen tend towards brutal honesty. She shares a flat with an incompetent roommate Bev (Isy Suttie), who does not get along with Daz.[2]

The female trio is completed by Christine Bottomley who plays Julie, a nurse and Glyn's love interest. Glyn's high school crush, she is now a gorgeous young single woman who seems to be out of his league. Following a chance meeting at a nightclub a will-they-won't they relationship ensues. Julie visibly finds Glyn attractive and refreshing, but their relationship takes time to develop. Bottomley says of her character: "She takes a little warming up, because she's quite shy really. That was a challenge for me to play. I'm quite gobby! Julie is a warm character and instantly loyal".[2]

Warren is the landlord of the Admiral Nelson Pub and will do anything he can to keep the boys coming in and spending money. A father figure who nurses a secret admiration for the four leads, he also enjoys playing pranks on them and participating in banter. In an effort to draw customers and make more money, Warren has quiz nights and bingo, like other local pubs. Tomlinson describes Warren as "a know-all landlord who does anything he can to get them boys coming in...He enjoys playing pranks on them and kidding around but his main purpose it to get them to spend as much money as possible".[2]

Pam is Beggsy's Mum and her sole objective is to ensure her son's happiness. The perfect mum, until she realizes she could make herself happy if she had a man. Now her goal is for Beggsy to find someone else rather than chasing after his ex-wife, who he obviously still loves. She doesn't interfere exactly, but he is always at her house even though he doesn't live there. Blake says of their relationship: "They go over things at meal times and I identify with that because I'm like that with my own son. He's 33 and married but he rings me up to talk about his problems and that's lovely."[2]

Bev is Colleen's eccentric housemate who is madly in love with Beggsy. She and Daz have an intense feud, but they put up with each other for Colleen's sake. She loves cats and baking cakes, and the secret ingredient to her cake recipes is 'anger'. She says that lederhosen and animal cruelty are some of the things that make her angry. She has also sniffed marker pen at some point, as stated by Colleen in episode 6.

Tony (nicknamed 'Mad Tony' by Warren) is a local gangster who lives in a huge mansion in the surrounding countryside. He is Glyn's boss, and owns a dog called Napoleon, which the lads find out about rather unpleasantly the first time they visit Tony's house.