Season 2
After You've Gone is a British sitcom created by Fred Barron and produced by the BBC about a divorced man who agrees to look after his children when his ex-wife goes to Africa on a volunteer mission.
The series originally aired in the UK on BBC One from 12 January, 2007 to 21 December, 2008. There are 25 half-hour episodes (including two Christmas specials) in three seasons.
After You've Gone premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Entertainment channel on Thursday 23 October 2008, at 20h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Entertainment on Thursday 11 December 2008, at 20h00. After the first two episodes had aired the show went on a two-week hiatus over the Christmas period, before returning for the final six episodes on 8 January, 2009.
There are eight episodes in the second season.
Synopsis
Nicholas Lyndhurst stars in After You've Gone as jack-of-all-trades Jimmy Venables – probably the only man in Britain who gets divorced and ends up sharing a home with his mother-in-law.
Weekend-dad Jimmy volunteers to move back into the marital home to look after his two teenagers when his ex-wife volunteers to tend to victims of a natural disaster in Africa.
Unfortunately, Jimmy's patrician mother-in-law, Diana (Celia Imrie) views Jimmy as a walking, talking natural disaster so she virtually moves in to "help" which generally means undermining Jimmy whenever possible.
With a smart talking daughter, Molly (Dani Harmer), who thinks she's already a woman, and a son, Alex (Ryan Sampson), who occasionally dresses a bit too much like one, just how much of a challenge can adapting to fatherhood on a daily basis be?
After You've Gone is a BBC Production, created by Fred Barron (creator of My Family), which continues Barron's exploration of family life, focusing this time on one man's noble attempt at being a responsible adult and parent despite the fact that he doesn't have a clue.
The cast also includes Amanda Abbington as Jimmy's girlfriend and Vincent Ebrahim and Lee Oakes as Jimmy's mates.
After You've Gone is produced by Rosemary McGowan, executive produced by Kenton Allen and Fred Barron, and is directed by Tony Dow.
The theme tune, After You've Gone, is performed by Jamie Cullum.
Characters
Jimmy Venables
An easygoing, divorced father of two, Jimmy has two months to become the dad he never was. After You've Gone is the story of one grown man's struggle to actually become a grown up and prove himself to his kids, his ex-wife and his ex-mother-in-law.
Diana Neal
Jimmy's posh, opinionated ex-mother-in-law, who despite her loathing of the feckless Jimmy, is determined to turn him into the ideal father for the sake of her grandchildren.
Molly Venables
Smart talking Molly sees herself as the only adult in the family, in fact she sees herself as the puppeteer and in her heart she really wishes she didn't have to be.
Alex Venables
Alex Venables is Jimmy's unconventionally brilliant teenage son, much to Diana and Jimmy's dismay, the ever-cheerful Alex is unfortunately all momentum and no direction whatsoever.
Siobhan Casey
Jimmy's hairdresser girlfriend Siobhan has had enough bad relationships in her past to know that Jimmy, flawed though he is, is a lot better than the rest of the guys out there.
Kev
Jimmy's assistant in the decorating trade, though he prefers to think of himself as "The guy who knows a guy". If you're looking for a lorry-load of slightly used 40 watt bulbs, Kev's your man.
Bobby
Pub Landlord at Jimmy's local, Bobby sees the world through a pair of crap coloured glasses. Bobby always expects the worse and cheerfully shares his pessimism with his customers.
Seasons
(All seasons aired exclusively on BBC Entertainment)
Season 1 (7 episodes)
Premiere: 23 October 2008 | Finale: 4 December 2008 | Thursdays, 20h00
Season 2 (8 episodes)
Premiere: 11 December 2008 | Finale: 12 February 2009 | Thursdays, 20h00
Season 3 (8 episodes)
Premiere: 4 August 2009 | Finale: 22 September 2009 | Tuesdays, 20h00