Two Doors Down (TV series)

Two Doors Down
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Simon Carlyle; Gregor Sharp;
Directed by	Simon Hynd
Starring	Danelle Nardini Arabella Weir; Alex Norton; Doon Mackichan; Jonathan Watson; Elaine C. Smith; Sharon Rooney; Jamie Quinn; Kieran Hodgson; Harki Bhambra; Grado; Joy McAvoy;
Country of origin	Scotland
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Steven Canny; Ewan Angus; Myfanwy Moore;
Production location(s)	Glasgow, United Kingdom
Camera setup	Single camera
Running time	28 minutes
Production company(s)	BBC Scotland
Release
Original network	BBC One Scotland (2013); BBC Two (2016–present);
Original release	Pilot: 31 December 2013; Series: 1 April 2016 –; present

Two Doors Down is a Scottish television sitcom, produced by BBC Studios that is broadcast across the UK at prime time.[1] It was created by Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp and stars Arabella Weir, Alex Norton, Doon Mackichan, Jonathan Watson and Elaine C. Smith.

Following a pilot broadcast in 2013, the first series began airing April 2016.[1] A second series began airing on 21 November 2016.[2][3] The show was recommissioned in December 2016 for a third series by BBC Two which aired in early 2018, as well as a Christmas special in December 2017.[4] A fourth series was broadcast between January and February 2019. A fifth series is to commence filming in summer 2020, and set to air in 2021.[5]

Two Doors Down won the Best Comedy award at the 2017 Royal Television Society Scotland Awards.

Premise

Two Doors Down focuses on neighbours living side by side in a typical Glasgow suburb. BBC Scotland describes the characters as "not so happily living together" – the neighbours are constantly visiting uninvited, and overstaying their welcome, at Beth and Eric Baird's house.[6] Beth is often taken advantage of by her neighbours, frequently having to make tea, pour drinks and prepare food, while the remaining characters chat in the living room. Eric and Beth therefore try and avoid their neighbours as much as possible so they can enjoy some peace and quiet in their own home.[6]

The series creator, Simon Carlyle states, "Two Doors Down is about crazy neighbours. We’ve all got them. They seem ok, but when you scratch the surface they’re a bit nuts."[6]

Cast and characters

Main

Alex Norton as Eric Baird
Arabella Weir as Beth Baird
Elaine C. Smith as Christine O'Neal
Jonathan Watson as Colin Whyte
Doon Mackichan as Cathy Whyte
Sharon Rooney as Sophie O'Neal (pilot, series 1–2)
Kevin Guthrie (pilot) and Jamie Quinn as Ian Baird (series 1–)
Harki Bhambra as Jaz (series 1–2)
Kieran Hodgson as Gordon (from 2017 Christmas Special)
Graeme 'Grado' Stevely as Alan (from series 3)
Joy McAvoy as Michelle (from series 3)

Guest

Daniela Nardini as Caroline Stewart (pilot)
Greg McHugh as Tony Patterson (pilot)
James Young as Angus Baird (pilot)
Victoria Balnaves as Joanne (series 1)
Louise McCarthy as Nurse (series 1)
Maurice Roëves as Willie Whyte (series 2)
Rachel Jackson as Waitress (series 3)
Lisa Bradley as Barmaid (series 3)
Sophie Leigh Stone as Louise (series 4)

Episodes

Series		Episodes	Originally aired
Series		Episodes	First aired	Last aired	Network
	Pilot		31 December 2013 (2013-12-31)		BBC One Scotland
	1	6	1 April 2016 (2016-04-01)	6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)	BBC Two
	2	6	21 November 2016 (2016-11-21)	19 December 2016 (2016-12-19)
	3	6	26 December 2017 (special) 29 January 2018 (2018-01-29)	5 March 2018 (2018-03-05)
	4	6	7 January 2019 (2019-01-07)	11 February 2019 (2019-02-11)

Pilot (2013)

No. overall	No. in series	Episode	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) [7]
1	–	Pilot	Catherine Morshead	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	31 December 2013 (2013-12-31)	3.28

Series 1 (2016)

No. overall	No. in series	Episode	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) [7]
2	1	Episode 1	Simon Hynd	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	1 April 2016 (2016-04-01)	1.80
3	2	Episode 2	Simon Hynd	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	8 April 2016 (2016-04-08)	1.36
4	3	Episode 3	Simon Hynd	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	15 April 2016 (2016-04-15)	1.14
5	4	Episode 4	Simon Hynd	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	22 April 2016 (2016-04-22)	1.15
6	5	Episode 5	Simon Hynd	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	29 April 2016 (2016-04-29)	1.13
7	6	Episode 6	Simon Hynd	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	6 May 2016 (2016-05-06)	1.14

Series 2 (2016)

No. overall	No. in series	Episode	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) [7]
8	1	Episode 1	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	21 November 2016 (2016-11-21)	1.49
9	2	Episode 2	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	28 November 2016 (2016-11-28)	1.58
10	3	Episode 3	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	5 December 2016 (2016-12-05)	1.69
11	4	Episode 4	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	12 December 2016 (2016-12-12)	1.16
12	5	Episode 5	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	19 December 2016 (2016-12-19)	1.00
13	6	Episode 6	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	19 December 2016 (2016-12-19)	0.90

Series 3 (2018)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) [7]
14	–	"Christmas Special"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	26 December 2017 (2017-12-26)	1.04
15	1	"Burns Supper"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	29 January 2018 (2018-01-29)	2.11
16	2	"Eric's Colon"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	5 February 2018 (2018-02-05)	1.50
17	3	"Break In"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	12 February 2018 (2018-02-12)	1.69
18	4	"Fish Friday"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	19 February 2018 (2018-02-19)	1.63
19	5	"Party Pieces"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	26 February 2018 (2018-02-26)	1.72
20	6	"Alan and Michelle"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	5 March 2018 (2018-03-05)	1.81

Series 4 (2019)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions) [8]
21	1	"Anniversary"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	7 January 2019 (2019-01-07)	1.75
22	2	"Willie's Wake"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	14 January 2019 (2019-01-14)	1.63
23	3	"Hospital"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	21 January 2019 (2019-01-21)	1.64
24	4	"Graham & Sandra"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	28 January 2019 (2019-01-28)	N/A (<1.63)[lower-alpha 1]
25	5	"Overnight"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	4 February 2019 (2019-02-04)	1.63
26	6	"Housewarming"	Sasha Ransome	Simon Carlyle & Gregor Sharp	11 February 2019 (2019-02-11)	1.74

Production

The pilot episode was shown on 31 December 2013. It was shot with all the crew and cast in a cramped, medium-sized living room.[1] After the pilot was deemed successful, filming was moved to purpose-built sets in Dumbarton.[1] Exterior scenes are filmed in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire. Series four was filmed in Avonbrae Crescent, Hamilton.

Critical reception

Two Doors Down has received mixed reviews. Writing for The Guardian, Ben Arnold said the pilot for the series was "a mundane set-up, not helped by a woeful lack of laughs."[9] Writing again for The Guardian at the beginning of the second series, Arnold called the series "woeful".[10] The Arts Desk wrote that the series "owes an awful lot to both Abigail’s Party and The Royle Family, as well as socially awkward characters from any number of sketch shows, with equally broadly defined characters – only without the bits that make you laugh out loud."[11] Writing for RadioTimes, David Butcher said "Sometimes Two Doors Down is so uneventful it almost vanishes" but called it a "nicely sour-edged sitcom".[12] Conversely, writing for The Guardian, Zoe Williams said "this endearing ensemble BBC Comedy about a sort of Scottish neighbours has something-for-everyone humour."[13] Euan Ferguson wrote in The Observer in December 2016 "BBC Two's Two Doors Down has it all. Wit, delight, long awkward silences, burps, bacon-farts."[14]

Notes

Not reported in the weekly top 15 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.

References

Spowart, Nan (28 March 2016). "Hit comedy Two Doors Down is back after winning fans on both sides of the Border". www.thenational.scot. The National. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
"BBC Two 'plans second series for Two Doors Down' after ratings success". Express. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
"Two Doors Down". Facebook. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
Guide, British Comedy (19 October 2017). "Two Doors Down to return with cast changes". Retrieved 8 March 2018.
Rudden, Liam (20 February 2020). "Rab C Nesbitt and Two Doors Down star Elaine C Smith recalls her days teaching drama in Edinburgh ahead of new play at the Lyceum". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
"BBC Scotland – Why Two Doors Down is Britain's best-kept sitcom secret". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
"Weekly top 30 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
"Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
"Friday's best TV: Easter 1916: The Enemy Files, Billy Connolly's Tracks Across America and Boomers". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
"Monday's best TV: The Last Miners; Back in Time for Brixton; Our Guy in China". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
"Two Doors Down, BBC Two". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
"Two Doors Down Series 2-Episode 2". RadioTimes. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
"Doon Mackichan: 'We were sexy, funny women – perhaps that was a bit much' | Television & radio". The Guardian. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
"https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/two_doors_down/press/

External links

Two Doors Down at BBC Programmes
Two Doors Down on IMDb
Two Doors Down at British Comedy Guide

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[Unreported_UK_viewers-9] Not reported in the weekly top 15 programmes for four-screen viewer ratings.

[:0-1] Spowart, Nan (28 March 2016). "Hit comedy Two Doors Down is back after winning fans on both sides of the Border". www.thenational.scot. The National. Retrieved 27 May 2016.

[2] "BBC Two 'plans second series for Two Doors Down' after ratings success". Express. Retrieved 6 June 2016.

[3] "Two Doors Down". Facebook. Retrieved 6 June 2016.

[4] Guide, British Comedy (19 October 2017). "Two Doors Down to return with cast changes". Retrieved 8 March 2018.

[5] Rudden, Liam (20 February 2020). "Rab C Nesbitt and Two Doors Down star Elaine C Smith recalls her days teaching drama in Edinburgh ahead of new play at the Lyceum". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 5 March 2020.

[bbc.co.uk-6] "BBC Scotland – Why Two Doors Down is Britain's best-kept sitcom secret". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

[BARB-7] "Weekly top 30 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.

[BARB4-8] "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 11 April 2019.

[10] "Friday's best TV: Easter 1916: The Enemy Files, Billy Connolly's Tracks Across America and Boomers". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2016.

[11] "Monday's best TV: The Last Miners; Back in Time for Brixton; Our Guy in China". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2016.

[12] "Two Doors Down, BBC Two". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 25 November 2016.

[13] "Two Doors Down Series 2-Episode 2". RadioTimes. Retrieved 26 November 2016.

[14] "Doon Mackichan: 'We were sexy, funny women – perhaps that was a bit much' | Television & radio". The Guardian. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2016.

[15] "https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/two_doors_down/press/