# Early Doors
**Early Doors** is a British television sitcom for [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two), broadcast in 2003 and 2004 in 12 episodes across 2 series, created and written by [Craig Cash](https://www.edgepedia.org/craig-cash) and Phil Mealey and set in a northern English pub called The Grapes[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/) • [2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml). The first episode went out on Monday 12 May 2003 at 9:30pm on BBC Two; each episode ran 30 minutes[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | BBC Two sitcom, 12 episodes across 2 series, first broadcast 12 May 2003 at 9:30pm[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/) |
| Setting | The Grapes, a northern local pub; the action stays within the pub itself[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors) |
| Writers | Craig Cash and Phil Mealey, who also appear on screen as regulars Joe and Duffy[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) |
| Lead cast | John Henshaw as landlord Ken, Christine Bottomley as his adopted daughter Melanie, Rita May as his mother Jean[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) |
| Series arcs | Series one: Melanie's search for her biological father; series two: a threatened rebranding of the pub[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/) |
| Awards | Best Writing Award two years running at the North West Comedy Awards[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/); two nominations overall[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/) |
| Revival | Repeats from January 2023 on BBC Four and iPlayer; a stage sequel sold out theaters across the country[4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors) |
## Premise and setting
The series takes place in The Grapes, a typical northern local pub, where daily life revolves around the comings and goings of landlord Ken's die-hard regulars[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml). Ken has been left by his wife, who ran off with his best friend; he lives at the pub with his adopted daughter Melanie and his mother Jean[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/). Each series carries one broad storyline through the small talk of the regulars. The first follows Melanie's search for her biological father; the second asks whether the pub will be rebranded beyond recognition, a threat hanging over the pub's whole way of doing things[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/).
The Guardian calls the pub a rough-and-ready [Stockport](https://www.edgepedia.org/stockport) pub[4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors), while British Comedy Guide calls it a small Manchester pub[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/).
## Cast and characters
**The regulars.** John Henshaw played Ken in all 12 episodes, the dour landlord at the center of the show[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/). Christine Bottomley played Melanie in 11 episodes and Rita May played Jean[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/). The supporting cast included [Mark Benton](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-benton), Peter Wight, James Quinn, Lorraine Cheshire, and Rodney Litchfield[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) • [1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/).
**The writers on screen.** Craig Cash and Phil Mealey appear as Joe and Duffy, pub lads who command center table and most of the conversation[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml).
**A replacement and an in-joke.** [James McAvoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-mcavoy) played Melanie's boyfriend Liam in series one, appearing in 11 episodes, but left the show after his career took off and was replaced in series two by a new boyfriend, Dean[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/). The writers acknowledged the change on screen: in the second series Joe refers to Melanie's previous boyfriend as "shameless" for the way he dumped her, an in-joke about McAvoy leaving to star in [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s series *Shameless*[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/).
## Production and writing
The BBC's own comedy page states that the sitcom was originally intended to be written jointly by Craig Cash and [Caroline Aherne](https://www.edgepedia.org/caroline-aherne), but Aherne quit England and Cash instead brought in Phil Mealey as co-writer[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/). Cash directed the second series; the series was also directed by Adrian Shergold, with production by Lucy Ansbro, John Rushton, Mark Freeland and Phil McIntyre for Phil McIntyre Entertainments[2](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml) • [1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/).
The BBC's own comedy page describes the result as a low-key modern classic that took the dowdy, naturalistic feel of *The Royle Family* and placed it in a pub setting, which allowed a more eclectic bunch of characters[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/). The show crept in under the radar, picked up strong reviews and maintained a healthy following[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/).
## Reception and legacy
Early Doors won the Best Writing Award two years running at the North West Comedy Awards[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/). IMDb records two award nominations and a user rating of 8.6/10 from about 2,600 votes[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/).
A January 2023 Guardian editorial described it as a slow-burning northern comedy that became a cult classic, leaving a hooked audience wanting more, and grouped it with *The Royle Family* as a countercultural classic of the northern sitcom that still speaks to its times[4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors).
## Interpretation: the working-class idyll
A 2013 article in the *Journal of British Cinema and Television* analyses the show as a sitcom set in a dowdy Manchester pub whose downbeat regulars are badly out of step with the enterprising and modernizing tendencies of contemporary Britain[6](https://euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jbctv.2013.0131). On this reading The Grapes represents a working-class idyll, a place where the virtues of welfare, solidarity and free time prevail, and the series works as a small antidote to an era defined by austerity imposed from above[6](https://euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jbctv.2013.0131).
## Afterlife: stage sequel and 2023 repeats
Only two series, comprising 12 episodes, were ever made, and The Guardian editorial calls it a mystery that more series were not commissioned[4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors). The format did continue on stage: a successful stage sequel sold out theaters across the country[4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors).
Interest revived in early 2023. From January 2023, Early Doors episodes received another outing on [BBC Four](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-four) and iPlayer, beginning on the Saturday covered by the Guardian editorial[4](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors); British Comedy Guide records a series 2 episode shown on BBC Four as late as Saturday 11 February 2023 at 11:00pm[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/).
## References
1. [Early Doors, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/early_doors/)
2. [BBC TWO Entertainment Autumn 2004, BBC Press Office](https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/07_july/28/2autumn_ent.shtml)
3. [Early Doors, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366010/)
4. [The Guardian view on working-class comedy: welcome back Early Doors, The Guardian (6 January 2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-working-class-comedy-welcome-back-early-doors)
5. [Early Doors, BBC Comedy](https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/earlydoors/)
6. [Early Doors and the Working-class Idyll, Journal of British Cinema and Television (2013)](https://euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jbctv.2013.0131)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › British sitcoms and comedy series › British sitcoms (1990s–2000s)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license