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Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Susan Nickson
Starring	Natalie Casey (2001-) Kathryn Drysdale (2001-) Will Mellor (2001-) Sheridan Smith (2001-) Ralf Little (2001-6)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	6
No. of episodes	55 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two (Series 1) BBC Choice (Series 2) BBC Three (Series 3-6)
Original run	2001 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (commonly shortened to Two Pints) is a BBC sitcom written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England and revolves around the lives of five twentysomethings.

The title was inspired by the 1980 hit "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please" by Splodgenessabounds.^[1]

Contents 1 Broadcast 2 Characters 2.1 Main Characters 3 Episodes 3.1 Series 7 (2008) 4 Ralf Little Quits 5 Distribution 5.1 DVD releases 6 Trivia 7 References 8 External links

The executive producer of the show, Stephen McCrum, began the show after seeing writer Susan Nickson's work on Channel 4's Lloyd's Bank Film Challenge, entitled "Life's A Bitch", which starred Sean Hughes and Kathy Burke. Aged just fourteen, Nickson was asked by McCrum to come and work with him after a few years; consequently, Nickson began working on Two Pints when she was just eighteen.

McCrum tried to persuade the producers of the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks to get Will Mellor and Natalie Casey to work with him, when the two acted on the programme. Casey had to go through several auditions to get the part. McCrum had wanted to work with Sheridan Smith since she began performing at a very young age. Smith auditioned for the part but was turned down; however, she was later cast for the first series, and has been part of the cast ever since. Ralf Little was cast soon after completing work on another BBC sitcom The Royle Family, on which he had also acted with Smith. Although initially reluctant, he agreed to audition when he realised that Two Pints would be very different to The Royle Family. Kathryn Drysdale was brought in after producers saw her perform at her drama school.

The show's pilot starred Little and Mellor, though the characters of Janet, Louise and Donna were portrayed by other actresses. Smith, Casey and Drysdale were then cast to be in the first series, and have been acting in the show ever since. Both Ralf and Sheridan, and Will and Natalie play couples Jonny and Janet, and Gaz and Donna.Will and Natalie also played couples on-screen in the past when they portrayed a couple in Hollyoaks. Sheridan stated how lucky she was to work with Ralf after starring together before, as playing such a close couple would have been awkward for them both. Will stated in a past interview how he sees Natalie Casey as a younger sister to him, and mentions that he feels awkward during kissing scenes because of this. Sheridan also classes Natalie as the "mummy" in the show, due to her knowledge and problem solving skills. Typically, episodes end with a particularly dramatic scene, such as Jonny breaking the news to Janet about her parents turning down his request for her hand in marriage.

BBC Two broadcast the first series, then the now-defunct BBC Choice screened series two. BBC Choice was rebranded as BBC Three shortly before it screened series three, and has shown the first run of each new series ever since. The channel currently broadcasts repeats of the show on an almost-nightly basis, covering all six present series. Back-to-back episodes are broadcast around 11pm, then there is sometimes a repeat broadcast of these two episodes the same night, at around 1am-2am. BBC Two also repeated the show, though only once, and used to be shown every Thursday. Dave is another channel that show repeats of the sitcom, and occasionally alongside UKTV Gold. Dave started showing later episodes in 2006 after only broadcasting the first few series. To mark this, the channel displayed "NEW" underneath its on-screen logo, leading to many people believing that the rights to show new episodes have gone to UKTV.

After series four, in which Jonny was shot by armed police, there was a text and phone vote for the viewers to determine if Jonny should die or not. Series five began with a funeral, which was then revealed to be Flo's, rather than Jonny's.

In 2007, after much speculation, a seventh series was commissioned, rumoured to be of thirteen episodes. Broadcast dates have yet to be confirmed. The speculation began after the showing of the series six finale, which led many people to believe the characters have been killed off (read below for more information). However, after many interviews and rumours, a seventh series was confirmed. In an interview, Ralf Little stated in the future he would be doing "more Two Pints", and commentary on the series six DVD seemed to hint at the fact the show hasn't finished. Will Mellor hinted on television interviews, one being Loose Women, and more or less confirming it on The Paul O'Grady Show, after saying statements like "we'll keep on making it".

On the 19 September 2007 Ralf announced during an interview on This Morning that he would not be returning for the next series of Two Pints... due to an overwhelming schedule.

Main article: List of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps characters

Name	Played by:	Date of birth:	Age: (at the beginning of series 1)
Jonny Keogh (2001-2006)	Ralf Little	February 9, 1981(1981-02-09)[citation needed]	20[2]
Janet Keogh née Smith	Sheridan Smith	June 25, 1981(1981-06-25)[citation needed]	21[3]
Gary "Gaz" Wilkinson	Will Mellor	April 3, 1976(1976-04-03)[citation needed]	22[4]
Donna Henshaw	Natalie Casey	April 15, 1980(1980-04-15)[citation needed]	22[5]
Louise Brooks	Kathryn Drysdale	September 23, 1981(1981-09-23)[citation needed]	20[6]

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Main article: List of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps episodes

As of 30 April 2006 (the finale of series six) there have been fifty five episodes over six series since 2001.^[7]

There has been an official confirmation that Two Pints will be back with a seventh series, with the episodes set to air some time in 2008. The recording is under way as of 4 November 2007. The series is said to air late in January 2008, with the first episode being aired live and the DVD is to be released in March 2008. For More Information Vistit Two Pints Homepage.

On the 19th September 2007 Ralf announced during an interview on "This Morning" that he would not be returning for the next series of "Two Pints..." due to an overwhelming schedule.

All series to current date (1 to 6) have been released

Series	Episodes	Discs	DVD release date
			Region 2
1 & 2	12	2	UK: August 18, 2003
All the episodes from the first and second series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
3 & 4	18	4	UK: September 6, 2004
All the episodes from the third as well as fourth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (including the musical special).
1 to 4	30	5	UK: October 24, 2005
All the episodes from the first to the fourth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
5	14	2	UK: September 5, 2005
All the episodes from the fith series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.
6	10	2	UK: September 4, 2006
All the episodes from the sixth series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps plus interviews with the creators and cast and a feature showing making of the horror special.
1 to 6	54	10	UK: October 16, 2006
All the episodes from the first to the sixth series (including the musical special) of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps without interviews with the creators and cast and a feature showing making of the horror special

The four first series has been released in packs of two (1&2 and 3&4), then series 1 to 4 in on one single pack. After that, series 5 and 6 has been released separately, but then, BBC released all the six series in one single pack of 10 DVD discs.

The new series is currently being filmed

Many of the places featured on Two Pints are actual real places:

• The Archer is a real pub. However in real life it's called The Waterloo and is only used for the exterior shots (the interior scenes are recorded in the studio at BBC Television Centre in London). The Waterloo can be found at 88 High Street in the Old Town area of Runcorn, near the canal.
• Sayer's Bakery where Janet works is also real, being located at 30 Church Street, Runcorn Old Town.
• Gaz's workshop (Brindley Autos) can be found on Brindley Street in the northwest of the town under one of the rail bridge's arches.
• The Castle ruins featured in the opening title sequence are those of Halton Castle, in the east of the town.
• The exterior of Gaz's flat is real too. It can be found opposite the indoor market near Alcock Street and the bus station in the Old Town.
• Janet and Jonny's house can be found at 9 Clarks Terrace, in the Weston Point area of Runcorn.

• Two Pints... at bbc.co.uk
• Comedy Guide - Two Pints... at bbc.co.uk
• Fansite
• British Sitcom Guide
• Two Pints at British TV Resources
• Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Episodes	Series one • Series two • Series three • Series four • Series five • Series six • Series seven
Main characters	Jonny Keogh • Janet Keogh • Gaz Wilkinson • Donna Henshaw • Louise Brooks
Supporting characters	Flo Henshaw • "Munch" Wilkinson • Kelly • David Fish • Kate • Corinthian Keogh • Tim
Cast:	Ralf Little • Sheridan Smith • Will Mellor • Natalie Casey • Kathryn Drysdale • Beverley Callard • Lee Oakes • Hayley Bishop • Jonathon Dutton • Alison Mac • Luke Gell