My Family

My Family star Kris Marshall on drink driving charge

My Family actor and BT advert star Kris Marshall will answer a motoring charge in Somerset.

The end of an error as BBC1's cutting-edge sitcom My Family closed its net curtains for the last time after a ­turbulent decade.

Farewell then the cosy world of loveable eccentric Ben, his long-suffering wife Susan... and their charmingly cheeky children.

Frantic neighbours bursting through the door to howls of canned laughter, ­wisecracking cute kids, crying ­women, bozo blokes...and constant crises about everything apart from money.

No one's life was ever like this. But ­millions of fans tuned in year after year. And - presumably - found it funny. So this much-maligned telly success story doesn't deserve to be mocked.

Friday's final episode fizzled out with the sad saga of cousin Kirsty being dumped by text on her hen night. And Ben's lovelorn chum Roger trying to find his blind date in a crowded ­restaurant by shouting: "Is anyone looking for a Roger?" No ­laughing matter.

But throughout 11 highly professional series Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker delivered immaculate performances in one of TV's most enduring com­edies.

RIP My Family. Gone but already forgotten.

My Family, your family, our family

After 114 episodes, My Family takes its final bow tonight. The popular BBC One sitcom stars Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker as parents Ben and Susan Harper alongside a brood of children, cousins and uninvited house guests, played over the years by Kris Marshall, Daniela Denby-Ashe, Gabriel Thompson, Siobhan Hayes, Keiron Self, Rhodri Meilir and Tayler Marshall.

It's lasted 11 long years, 120 episodes and withstood widespread sneering. Now the Harper family bid farewell with the last ever episode of the sitcom that viewers loved but critics loathed. Susan (Zoë Wanamaker) and Janey (Daniela Denby-Ashe) attend an eventful hen party, while disgruntled dentist Ben (Robert Lindsay) is babysitting at home - as ever, with supposedly hilarious consequences. It's time for the curtain to fall: the show's always been impeccably performed, but the writing deteriorated in recent years and ratings have fallen from a peak of 11m to around 4m.

Tyger Drew-Honey says My Family is "a bit predictable"

Tyger Drew-Honey, who of course stars in Outnumbered, has branded rival BBC sitcom My Family "a bit predictable".

Robert Lindsay: 'We're very proud of My Family'

After 11 years playing grumpy Ben Harper, Robert Lindsay looks to the last ever episode of My Family...

The last thoughts and testament of My Family

As the Harpers wave goodbye, the four remaining original My Family cast members tell TV Times magazine how the hit BBC1 sitcom has changed their lives...

Love it or loathe it, you can't help feeling a little sad about the impending loss of this dated yet strangely comforting sitcom, which has lasted for 11 series. Tonight Michael and Janey treat their parents, Ben and Susan (Robert Lindsay and Zoe Wanamaker), to a Spanish holiday for their wedding anniversary. But, as you'd expect with the Harpers, nothing is as straightforward as it seems.

Susan is thrilled. Ben is away at a conference. All week.

But while that's good news for her and her sanity, it's bad news for us.

The comedy presence of Robert Lindsay is greatly missed. It's like expecting people to watch an episode of Outnumbered without any of the kids.

On paper, tonight's action sounds good - Susan gets accused of sexual harassment after she spurns a colleague's advances, while Michael confronts his former teacher who hated him and is now picking on Kenzo.

But the comedy is lacking; if this episode had been the pilot, the TV stalwart wouldn't have lasted five seconds, let alone 11 series.

There are some bright, hidden moments though.

Robert Lindsayp's paterfamilias Ben gets an episode off this week, although seeing as how most of the cast have been sleepwalking through their roles for years in this dated (and now axed) comedy, you'll find it hard to spot much difference. With him out of the way, the path is clear for Susan (Zoë Wanamaker) to throw herself into her work - and the arms of the new office hunk. The result is a rare achievement in one respect at least, managing to be both utterly unlikely and all too predictable.