Parents Ben and Susan reluctantly agree to let daughter Janey have a party whilst they are away on holiday - and plan to sneak back unnoticed into the house and check up on the children, just to be on the safe side.

Susan, Ben and the children travel to a family funeral in Leeds. In addition to reservation problems at the hotel, Nick's shameless liaisons with the hotel maid and Susan's inappropriate behaviour at the funeral add up to a fraught weekend.

Ben decides to take Susan back to one of their old romantic haunts for her birthday, but instead, romance comes back to haunt them. Meanwhile, at home, Michael is left alone by his siblings.

Normally, nobody in the Harper family would willingly set foot in Nick's flat, but when Susan's mother comes to stay, it suddenly seems more attractive.

Susan insists that they purchase an expensive, over-the-top burglar alarm after Brigitte thinks her van has been stolen, but it fails to serve its purpose. Also, Nick's career takes an unexpected turn.

Preparations are afoot in the Harper household for the arrival of Sylvie, a French exchange student. Nick is keen to establish entente cordiale, but Janey is wary of the Parisian beauty. Meanwhile, Ben meets a prospective employee who does little to put him at ease.

The Harpers plan to redecorate their house, however, with Nick taking instructions from "The Naked Chef" rather too literally, and Janey's boyfriend spending the night in her room without her parents' permission, it appears that work will never get started.

Ben and Susan look forward to a night out in a town where nobody knows their names when they visit daughter Janey, who is away at university. Booking into a hotel under the names of Johnny Studd and Delores de Large, the stage is set for a night full of surprises, of one kind or another.

Susan's feathers are ruffled when Nick lands the plum part of Jesus in an amateur theatrical production, leaving Susan to play the rather less demanding part of Shepherd Number Two. Ben, meanwhile, has an extremely painful toothache to contend with, and is wary of entrusting his dental needs to any other dentist.

Janey is appalled when her mother comes to visit her at university - especially when she begins to reminisce about her own student days. Meanwhile, Ben's plans for a relaxing round of golf do not go according to plan.

After the Harpers' marriage is threatened by Susan's discovery that the love poem Ben wrote to woo her was not an original, he goes to great lengths to make it up to her.

When an over-friendly patient gives him an expensive watch, Ben jumps to the conclusion that he is a gangster and is determined to get rid of the gift. Meanwhile, Susan searches the house for her anniversary present.

Nick buys a motorcycle for his new business endeavour but not surprisingly, things do not go according to plan. Janey gets a new job in hopes of being discovered by film producers, and Susan tries to convince Ben to soften up.

Ben claims Janey's room for his Scalextric set when she leaves for university. Meanwhile, Nick secures a job at the local supermarket, and ends up bringing his work home with him.

After signing up on a social networking site, Susan starts getting messages from an old flame. Meanwhile, Michael finds out their house is cursed and Abi is convince it is haunted.

Ben gets his hopes up that finally one of his kids will move out when Nick decides to get his own apartment; unfortunately, as always for Ben, every silver lining has a cloud.

Ben and Susan face the surprise prospect of parenthood for the fourth time - a situation which is neither wholly desirable nor planned.

Ben is distressed as he faces trouble at work in the shape of his new assistant, who cannot stand the sight of blood. His troubles do not get any easier when he arrives home and must face the trauma of his neighbour's DIY antics. Meanwhile, Janey's preparations for her driving test end with an unforgettable lesson with her dad.

Susan has taken to asking an increasingly disturbed Michael for advice on make-up and clothes now that Janey has left for university. The arrival of Ben's cousin's daughter in the Harper household could provide a solution - but Ben is reluctant to give up the peace and quiet he has spent his entire married life longing for.

Susan gets hysterical blindness after seeing Michael in bed with a girl. Meanwhile, Ben is on dreaded jury duty and is hassled by an annoying busybody fellow juror, and Nick becomes a wrapping artist.

After doing some Christmas shopping, the Harpers find themselves stuck in an underground train that has broken down.

Michael announces that his girlfriend is pregnant, and she ends up moving in with them after her deeply religious parents throw her out, but it turns out that they were not as religious as everyone thought.

When Janey is set up on a date with the son of one of Ben's patients, things go horribly wrong. Also, Susan gets tickets for the opera but Ben is less than enthusiastic.

When Susan tries to help out a chronically unemployable Nick, her plan turns out to be disastrous, Janey brings a different boy home every day, and Ben has problems with his assistant.

Nick has a new girlfriend and the family get a bit of a shock when he brings her round for dinner. Also, Michael gets a new computer and Janey is starting to feel like the poor relation.