Brian Cooke, who had once been a cartoonist, based the series partly on his own life and partly on the lifestyle of his director friend Mark Stuart, who had a tall, thin house in Highgate and had converted the ground floor into a self contained flat for his daughter.
The show was originally conceived as a comedy vehicle for the actress Paula Wilcox, titled Family Affairs.
Filmed during the milk bottle size and shape changeover period of 1979: S1 Episodes 1, 5 & 6 feature the older tall style; episode 2 features the stubbier replacement style.
Rehearsals for the show took place at Putney United Reform Church, London.