Browse all episodes of One Foot in the Grave

Victor Meldrew, 60 years old, is at last retiring from the rigors of his security guard job at Watson-Mycroft. Replaced by a talking machine, Victor soon discovers that retirement will give him just as many reasons to be grumpy.

Alive and Buried

As retirement throws more problems for Victor Meldrew's retirement, including a next-door neighbour's noisy party, a disturbing and puzzling rash and an atheist funeral, has Victor bitten the bullet?

The Big Sleep

After being mugged whilst photographing badgers, and having his house sprayed with the phrase 'The Man Who Lives Here Is A Turd', Victor decides to hold a crime prevention meeting.

The Valley of Fear

After being stuck in the shed for over three hours, then forced to spend an entire day with his eyes closed after a visit to the optometrist, Victor cannot bear the trials of babysitting.

I'll Retire to Bedlam

Although Margaret is glad that Victor finally has a hobby to occupy his time, she is less pleased to discover that it involves painting nudes.

The Eternal Quadrangle

Following a food poisoning incident and problems with the electricity man, the Meldrews embark on a well-deserved holiday, however this is only the start of their problems.

The Return of the Speckled Band

When Victor and Margaret return from their holiday, they discover that their luggage has been sent to the other side of the world, and that their house has been burned down.

In Luton Airport No-One Can Hear You Scream

The Meldrews are given the responsibility of looking after their goddaughter's tortoise.

We Have Put Her Living in the Tomb

Victor discovers a new talent - writing comedy. However, his views of comedy are somewhat different from everyone else's, and he finds himself without support.

Dramatic Fever

While Pippa believes that Victor may have murdered an elderly blind man, Victor uses a benefit concert to re-introduce his ventriloquist act.

Who Will Buy?

When the Meldrews visit some friends on the South Coast, Victor is given a surprise.

Love and Death

A variety of bizarre factors, including a dead hedgehog, keep Victor awake. And if Victor's awake, Margaret isn't going to get much sleep either.

Timeless Time

After a burglary Victor decides not to replace his television set in order to give him and Margaret more opportunity to get out of the house. However, a trip to the pub results in a disconcerting experience with an old friend.

Monday Morning Will Be Fine

Margaret is having a recurring dream about murdering someone who looks like Victor. However, it's Margaret who is starting to irritate Victor. That is, until she disappears.

Dreamland

Alfred, Victor's accident prone brother, is making his first visit from New Zealand for 25 years. Victor is not looking forward to his stay, preferring to act as a neighbourhood vigilante.

The Broken Reflection

The Meldrews and Mrs Warboys get stuck in Bank Holiday traffic.

The Beast in the Cage

Mr Swainey has brought Victor a present back from his holiday - an unlucky charm. Victor thinks that Mrs Stebbings' TV aerial is laughing at him and his resulting misfortune. Meanwhile, Patrick and Pippa are having problems trying to sell their house.

Beware the Trickster on the Roof

Even a shed falling on him cannot upset Victor when he finally gets a new job. However, before starting work he must first contend with some unwanted visitors and a trip to the BBC organised by Mrs Warboys.

The Worst Horror of All

Victor is employing a workman in the garden, although he never seems to do any work. On the other side of the fence, Patrick has acquired a pet daschund called Denzil.

The Pit and the Pendulum

Margaret falls ill to nervous exhaustion that has been building up over the past 34 years. She has little chance for peace and quiet in which to recuperate, especially with Victor's problems with gorilla suits and the waste disposal system. She is however cheered by a visit from an old friend.

Descent into the Maelstrom

During a trip to the countryside with Mrs Warboys and Mr Swainey, the Meldrews manage to get lost. Victor leaves the others to try to find help.

Hearts of Darkness

Victor returns from holiday with sunburnt feet. His mood doesn't improve, thanks to rows with the neighbours and the addition of a streetlamp to his bedroom furniture. This gives Margaret a dilemma when she is contacted by Ben, a pleasant man who she met on holiday.

Warm Champagne

Victor has been selected for jury service. He hasn't been required in court yet, but he is on call so he is stuck in the house all day and must somehow beat his boredom.

The Trial

Victor is preparing for a meeting of his magicians' club. He now has a job as a lollipop man, but is being bothered by the fire brigade due to hoax calls. Patrick and Pippa are due to visit the Meldrews' for a reconciliation meal, but Patrick isn't looking forward to the experience.

Secret of the Seven Sorcerers

Patrick is preparing for an important meeting with some Japanese businessmen. Next door, Victor's stolen car has been recovered, but he isn't very happy about it. Then the Meldrews are visited by Mr Foskett - a man who they met on holiday 17 years previously.

The Man Who Blew Away

Mrs Warboys is staying with the Meldrews following the flooding of her house and is starting to irritate Margaret. However, Victor is a lot calmer than usual thanks to the reflexology treatment that he has started receiving.

Only a Story

Victor thinks that the woman in the greengrocers fancies him. Meanwhile, Mrs Warboys has won a wax model of herself and the Meldrews are having problems with their door locks.

The Affair of the Hollow Lady

When Victor and Margaret visit their solicitors in order to make a will they discover precisely why a waiting room is so-called.

Rearranging the Dust

Patrick is looking forward to his trip to stay with Pippa's brother after an embarrassing visit to an Armenian restaurant in order to attempt to make up with Victor. Meanwhile, the Meldrews are employing a pair of very strange workmen and Margaret is getting jealous of a marionette.

Hole in the Sky

Romance is in the air for Mr. Swainey when he finally invites Tania the nurse out for a date. Victor takes a new job as a chauffeur but rapidly wipes out his employer's beloved fleet.

The Exterminating Angel

Victor has a new job as a window-cleaner. Meanwhile, Patrick's plans for a quiet birthday are ruined after an unfortunate misunderstanding involving a modern art painting and Pippa finds herself in an adulterous affair.

The Executioner's Song

In Mr. Swainey's production of 'Nosferatu: The Vampire', the actor who was supposed to play the vampire doesn't show up so Nick asks Victor to take the part. He does. Later, blood is found in Victor's digestive system during a test. After fearing the worst, the doctors discover that the blood was from an under-cooked black pudding that was earlier given to Victor by Mrs Warboys! While on their way to visit the dreaded Ronnie and Mildred, the Meldrews are shocked to discover that Mildred has killed herself while playing a game of 'Happy Families' - they are even more shocked to discover that her body is still hanging outside the house!

Tales of Terror

Margaret regrets hiring an attractive cleaner to help around the house. Meanwhile, Mrs Warboys has a couple of nasty frights.

The Futility of the Fly

During a power cut, Victor realises that he had been right through the middle of an area affected by a siege as it happened. He has the misfortune to have a light fitting drop right onto his privates, a cigarette stubbed out on his cap and a mysterious pain that leads him to think that he had been shot during the siege. Things are made worse by the arrival of the incontinent, fat and irritating elderly neighbour, Mr. Smedley.

Threatening Weather

Victor's new fishing hobby leads to an unfortunate encounter with a fly-tipper. Meanwhile, a visit from Patrick's gay twin brother leaves Pippa feeling mentally and physically exhausted, especially when Patrick sits on a cork.

The Dawn of Man

In the very last episode of 'One Foot in the Grave', Victor's decision  to attend a school reunion unwittingly delivers him into the hands of fate. Margaret deals with the aftermath with the help of her new friend, Glynis.

Things Aren't Simple Any More

One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series. The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.

All Episodes of One Foot in the Grave

Season 1

Alive and Buried

Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/4/1990

The Big Sleep

Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/11/1990

The Valley of Fear

Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/18/1990

I'll Retire to Bedlam

Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/25/1990

The Eternal Quadrangle

Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/1/1990

The Return of the Speckled Band

Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/8/1990