It’s Not Us, It’s Them: Series 1-3

All three series of the BBC Radio 4 comedy about love, marriage and despair, initially broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as 'Start/Stop'.

Barney and Cathy. Evan and Fiona. David and Alice. Three couples who have beaten the odds and stayed married – but is that simply because they haven’t got around to divorcing yet? They’ve certainly got enough problems to deal with – Barney and his other half have been together for ages (and it shows), Evan finds that sparks are constantly flying with Fiona (and not always in a good way), and David is afraid his sexy, much younger wife will leave him for someone (anyone) else.

In these three series, we follow this group of friends throughout weekends away and tricky date nights, weddings and funerals, Christmas celebrations and counselling sessions – all of which give them plenty of opportunity for flirting, fighting, competitiveness and reprehensible behaviour. We listen in to their innermost thoughts, feelings and motivations as they break the fourth wall: stopping the action, explaining themselves to the audience, then starting it all up again...

Written by award-winning comedian, actor and writer Jack Docherty, who plays Barney, this warm, smart and funny sitcom was a radio hit, and was adapted for TV as part of BBC One’s ‘Comedy Playhouse’ strand. It stars Charlie Higson as David, Jon Thomson as Evan, Kerry Godliman as Cathy, Fiona Allen as Fiona, and Katherine Parkinson, Sally Bretton and Laura Aikman as Alice. Guest stars include Jon Briggs, Sanjeev Bhaskar and John Sparkes.

Cast
Barney……………………Jack Docherty
Cathy……………………Kerry Godliman
Fiona……………………Fiona Allen
David……………………Charlie Higson
Evan……………………Jon Thomson
Alice……………………Katherine Parkinson/Sally Bretton/Laura Aikman
Voice of Barney’s smartphone……………………Jon Briggs
Therapist……………………Sanjeev Bhaskar
Cathy’s Dad……………………John Sparkes

Written by Jack Docherty
Produced by Steven Canny (Series 1) and Claire Jones (Series 2 and 3)
First broadcast BBC Radio 4: 6 September-11 October 2013, (Series 1), 10 November-29 December 2014 (Series 2), 29 July-2 September 2016 (Series 3)
This programme was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as 'Start/Stop'