List of Friday Night Dinner characters
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This is a list of characters from the British sitcom Friday Night Dinner that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2011-2020.
Cast and characters
Main characters
| Actor | Character | Seasons | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Tamsin Greig | Jacqueline 'Jackie' Goodman | Main | |||||
| Paul Ritter | Martin Goodman | Main | |||||
| Simon Bird | Adam Goodman | Main | |||||
| Tom Rosenthal | Jonathan 'Jonny' Goodman | Main | |||||
| Mark Heap | Jim Bell | Main | |||||
| Unknown dog | Wilson | Main | |||||
| Unknown dog | Milson | Main | |||||
- Tamsin Greig as Jacqueline "Jackie" Goodman, Adam and Jonny's mother, Martin's wife, Grandma's daughter and best friend of Val. Jackie is feisty, bossy, caring and house proud, and often treats Adam and Jonny as if they were still children. She tries to ensure the weekly family dinner goes smoothly. However, this is a very difficult task due to Martin's eccentric behaviour, the boys' frequent pranks on each other and being interrupted by their neighbour Jim. She loves her family very much but Martin frequently annoys her and the boys' refusal to let their mother meet their girlfriends upsets her. She loves MasterChef and is delighted when she finds out she is going to be a grandmother at the end of series 6.
- Paul Ritter as Martin Goodman, Adam and Jonny’s father, Jackie’s husband and only son of Horrible Grandma. He is clumsy, forgetful, eccentric and hard-of-hearing (although wears a hearing-aid; often mishears what people say). He often ropes his sons into whatever problematic situation he has caused, including smuggling his old science magazines back into the house and hiding a frozen fox carcass from Jackie. He often feels so hot that he walks around the house topless and has many catchphrases, including "Shit on it!", "Hello, bambinos!", "Any females?" and "lovely bit of squirrel". He frequently says inappropriate things to various people. He brings home things – including a dead fox, a piano and a caravan – which no-one else in the family want. He is fond of history, science and sex.
- Simon Bird as Adam Goodman, elder son of Jackie and Martin, older brother of Jonny Goodman and grandson of Grandma and Horrible Grandma. Adam composes jingles for radio advertisements. Sarcastic, reserved and somewhat awkward, he is single for the large majority of the time and frequently pressured by his parents to find a girlfriend, preferably Jewish. Jackie sets him up with Tanya, the daughter of a friend of hers, who instead passionately kisses Jonny. Adam and Jonny frequently prank each other, most often by pouring salt into each others' water, and although Adam is often on the receiving end of these pranks, he often pranks Jonny back a lot harder than what he gets. In the series 6 finale, Adam reveals he is having a baby with his girlfriend, Lucy.
- Tom Rosenthal as Jonathan "Jonny" Goodman, younger son of Jackie and Martin, younger brother of Adam and grandson of Grandma and Horrible Grandma. Witty, mischievous and playful, he enjoys frequently pranking his older brother and Martin's frequent interrogation of Adam about "females". During the first series, Jonny claims several times to be in a part-time relationship with a girl called Alison, but she never appears onscreen and is never introduced to any of the other characters, leading Adam to say that Jonny fabricated her existence. In the series 6 finale, he introduces his girlfriend, Lucy, to Friday night dinner at the house at the same time Adam does likewise with his girlfriend (who is also called Lucy). Jonny is shocked when both Lucys announce that they are pregnant.
- Mark Heap as Jim Bell, the Goodmans' bizarre neighbour, who lives alone. Jim is moronic in nature but is fascinated in learning about Jewish traditions. The family usually tolerate Jim's frequent interruptions and sometimes exploit his mental disadvantages. He has two dogs over the course of the series, a male Belgian Tervuren, Wilson (series 1–5), and a female Standard Poodle mix, Milson (series 6), both of whom he is afraid of, despite them being rather friendly. Jim is friendly but almost an outcast due to his poor social skills and very strange behaviour. His frequent visits to the Goodman residence, clumsiness, ridiculous behaviour and obvious attraction to Jackie cause problems. He is fascinated by the family's Jewish culture and tries to fit it by wearing a yarmulke made from his own shirt and saying "Shalom!" Jackie states in one episode that Jim was born in a zoo.
Recurring characters
| Actor | Character | Seasons | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Frances Cuka | Eleanor "Nelly" Rachel Buller a.k.a Grandma | Recurring | Guest | ||||
| Tracy Ann Oberman | Valerie "Auntie Val" Lewis | Guest | Recurring | ||||
- Frances Cuka as Eleanor "Nelly" Rachel Buller, Jackie's mother, referred to as Grandma (series 1–5). She is well-liked by the boys although argues sometimes with her daughter. She often says funny things and becomes confused. She is committed to her hairstyle and her looks, and is fond of drinking alcohol, particularly gin and sherry. She has a short-sexual relationship with the short-tempered and violent Mr. Morris, who she backs out of marrying on the day. She had been in a long marriage to Sydney Buller, who died years prior the events of the first series. She made only one guest appearance which was in Series 5, Episode 5, The Violin (voice only).
- Tracy Ann Oberman as Valerie "Val" Lewis, Jackie's neurotic best friend, known as "Auntie Val" to the boys. She sometimes dresses in a very similar way to Jackie, which occasionally causes confusion for Martin and Jim. She was married to Larry Lewis (Steve Furst) but their constant arguing resulted in her having a fling with another man in series 3 and the couple eventually separate in series 5. She made only two guest appearances which were in Series 1, Episode 4, The Dress and Series 2, Episode 3, The Loft.
One-off, minor and guest characters
| Actor | Character | Seasons | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||
| Matthew Holness | Chris Parker | Guest | ||||||
| Paul McNeilly | Lawrence "Pub Landlord" | Guest | Guest | |||||
| Frances Barber | Sheila "Bitchface" Bloom | Guest | ||||||
| Tuppence Middleton | Tanya Green | Recurring | ||||||
| Harry Landis | Lou Morris | Guest | Recurring | |||||
| Lesley Vickerage | Liz | Recurring | ||||||
| Rosalind Knight | Cynthia Goodman referred to as Horrible Grandma | Guest | Guest | |||||
| Sophia Di Martino | Emma | Guest | ||||||
| Liam O'Carroll | Mr Greencock | Guest | ||||||
| Jason Watkins | Tony Michaels | Guest | ||||||
| Skye Bennett | Lisa | Guest | ||||||
| Rosie Cavaliero | "Other" Jackie | Guest | ||||||
| Liam Williams | Ben | Guest | ||||||
| Jonny Holden | Spencer Lewis | Guest | ||||||
| Sally Phillips | Gibby | Guest | ||||||
| Rebecca Humphries and Pearl Mackie | Lucy and Lucy | Guest | ||||||
- Matthew Holness as Chris Parker, a man who came to the Goodman's house to pick up a sofabed for his sick father. While there, he receives a phone call that his father had died, and sits down, only to fall subject to a prank by Adam that was intended for Jonny. He then leaves the house in fear, leaving the sofabed stuck in the stairs. (Appears in: Series 1 Episode 1, The Sofabed)
- Paul McNeilly as Lawrence "Pub Landlord", a man who tries his best to be a friend to the people he serves. (Appears in: Series 1 Episode 3, The Curtains, Series 2 Episode 3, The Loft, Series 4 Episode 3, Congratulations)
- Frances Barber as Sheila "Bitchface" Bloom, the Goodman's rude, arrogant, narcissistic neighbour. She takes pride in her very fast, flashy Mercedes-Benz, so much so, in fact, that she brags about it constantly, even when talking about a serious matter, like her mother's death. She cares about it so much, that she tells Adam that he could have scratched it when she nearly ran him over. Later in the episode, Martin accidentally backs into the Mercedes, damaging the bumper, to which Sheila starts crying. She once had a fling with Martin before he met Jackie. (Appears in: Series 1 Episode 5, The Mercedes)
- Tuppence Middleton as Tanya Green, the daughter of a family friend in Elstree. Her main appearance involves her being set up with Adam by Jackie, as she thinks Tanya is a "lovely girl". Throughout her appearance, a series of mishaps occur, including Adam injuring his nose, Martin constantly burping, and Jonny pouring water down Adam's trousers. Despite this, she and Adam get on well. However, it is revealed that she and Jonny have been having a fling, when Adam sees them outside, passionately kissing. (Appears in: Series 1 Episode 4, The Dress (voice only), Series 1 Episode 6, The Date)
- Harry Landis as Lou Morris, an incredibly bad-tempered and violent man who has an extremely short sexual relationship with Grandma. He is overprotective of her and is paranoid over other men flirting with her, to the point of starting a fight with Jim. He also has a habit of referring to people he dislikes as 'punk rockers'. (Appears in: Series 2 Episode 2, Mr. Morris, Series 3 Episode 3, Mr. Morris Returns, Series 3 Episode 6, The Big Day)
- Lesley Vickerage as Liz, Jonny's 43-year-old boss and girlfriend. Jonny originally liked her, but soon found her to be boring and tedious. Ridiculed by everyone because of her age, she is nicknamed "Crazytits" by the family. Jonny eventually breaks up with her, causing her to burst into tears. (Appears in: Series 2 Episode 4, The New Car, Series 2 Episode 5, The Yogurts)
- Rosalind Knight as Cynthia Goodman, Martin's very unpleasant mother, referred to as Horrible Grandma. She used to own a dog named Boudacea, who suffered two chronic illnesses which were hole-riddled lungs and an ulcerated colon. She suddenly died of those two chronic illnesses. She throws wines all over the chairs and walls and pushes shelves and cabinets over and off the wall with direct intent. She then dies of a heart attack very suddenly during the episode Dad's Birthday, when Jim performs some magic, attempting to make her disappear. The Goodman family are very happy about her death, seen laughing loudly after her body is taken away. (Appears in: Series 2 Episode 7, Christmas, Series 4 Episode 5, The Funeral, Series 5 Episode 3, The Surprise, Series 6 Episode 4, Dad's Birthday)
- Sophia Di Martino as Emma, Adam's girlfriend. She and Adam get on well due to their similar personalities, but she becomes suspicious when he starts hiding the fact that her sister is sending him risqué photos, and that he's frequently spending time with the family's 8-year-old neighbor, Katie (Honor Kneafsey) who blackmails Adam into playing with her all night, so she won't tell Emma about the photos. Upon seeing one of the explicit images, she leaves Adam. (Appears in: Series 3 Episode 1, The Girlfriend)
- Liam O'Carroll as Mr Greencock, an unfortunately named, blind, and very sarcastic piano tuner. He causes major problems for the Goodmans when he comes to tune their piano, such as ruining Jackie's freshly cleaned carpet, interrupting their dinner out to tell them Jim had a fire, and being very rude to them. Eventually, after a prank text, Jackie throws Greencock out, only for him to return, and smash up the piano. (Appears in: Series 3 Episode 5, The Piano)
- Jason Watkins as Tony Michaels, Martin's annoying old roommate. Due to a computer error, Martin accidentally invites him round for dinner. Tony tries to be nice, but ends up being very annoying by telling poor jokes and blinking incredibly slowly. In an attempt to get him to leave, they tell him that Jackie's mother died, but that causes more problems than it should have. After seeing that Jackie's mother is alive and well, he leaves in fury, though not before stealing valuables from the Goodman's house. (Appears in Series 4 Episode 1, The Two Tonys)
- Skye Bennett as Lisa: Jonny's American wife. While on a stag weekend in Las Vegas, Jonny ends up marrying Lisa, despite neither of them knowing anything about each other, much to the shock of Jackie. (Appears in Series 4 Episode 3, Congratulations)
- Rosie Cavaliero as "Other" Jackie: Jim's date. Jim met her online, and, after reading that she is scared of dogs, gets the Goodmans to look after Wilson for him, which causes several mishaps. "Other" Jackie has a very annoying laugh, and a rather boring personality. Despite this, she and Jim get on well, even after revealing that Wilson is his dog. They ultimately break up however, as "Other" Jackie reveals that she hates Jews, much to the chagrin of the Goodmans. (Appears in Series 5 Episode 1, The Other Jackie)
- Liam Williams as Ben, Jonny's friend, whom Jonny is comforting after a nasty breakup. Ben soon shows to be very miserable and depressed, but starts laughing loudly after seeing the disfigured face of Martin's old ventriloquist dummy, Lord Luck. (Appears in Series 5 Episode 4, Lord Luck)
- Jonny Holden as Spencer Lewis, Val's eccentric, weird son. He was a medical student, but didn't graduate, as he apparently cheated at his exam, though he loudly states that "it was never proved". He annoys Adam by asking him personal questions, after Jonny tells him that Adam has a problem with his rectum. (Appears in Series 5 Episode 5, The Violin)
- Sally Phillips as Gibby, Adam and Jonny's overemotional former Swiss au pair. She adores eating cream tea, and is very overemotional, crying when she doesn't like something, and rather frequently uses "the facilities". She and Jim start to develop feelings for each other, however, when Gibby goes to seduce Jim, he gets scared away by her wolf T-shirt. (Appears in Series 6 Episode 3, The Au Pair)
- Rebecca Humphries and Pearl Mackie as Lucy and Lucy, Adam and Jonny's girlfriends. They both show themselves to be friendly, good natured women, even when several unfortunate incidents occur when they come for dinner. After Martin finally pushes Jackie too far with his clumsiness, the girls both reveal that they are pregnant, much to the surprise of Jackie and the boys. (Appears in: Series 6 Episode 6, The Females)
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