At Home with the Braithwaites

Before she became renowned for acclaimed dramas, Sally Wainwright cut her teeth writing for The Archers, Emmerdale and Coronation Street. Her first original television drama, At Home with the Braithwaites, which aired between 2000 and 2003, proved she had a remarkable talent for blending comedy, family drama and emotional chaos. What initially looks like a simple story about a lottery win quickly becomes a wonderfully addictive mix of soap opera, farce and dark comedy.

The series follows the seemingly ordinary Braithwaite family in suburban Leeds. Their lives are turned upside down when mother Alison (Amanda Redman) wins a life-changing jackpot of £38 million on the lottery. But rather than celebrating with her family, she keeps the win secret, convinced the money will do more harm than good. It's an ironic decision because every member of the household is already hiding something.

Her husband David (Peter Davison) is having an affair with his personal assistant. He desperately wants to end the relationship but lacks the courage to do so. Meanwhile, their three daughters each have complicated lives of their own. Virginia (Sarah Smart), the eldest, is rebellious, selfish and fiercely independent. Openly lesbian, she has an ongoing and unhealthy affair with manipulative neighbour Megan (Julie Graham). Sarah (Sarah Churn), the middle daughter, stumbles from one disastrous relationship to another, becoming pregnant by a neighbour, marrying and divorcing him before embarking on an affair with one of her teachers. Youngest daughter Charlotte (Keeley Fawcett) appears quiet and awkward, but her inquisitive nature means she's often the first to uncover everyone else's secrets, and she occasionally displays some unsettling sociopathic tendencies.

By the end of the first series, Alison's hidden lottery win and David's affair inevitably come to light. The second series finds the family relocated to a luxurious country mansion, but wealth does nothing to solve their problems. Alison and David's marriage continues to crumble, leading to separation. Alison then begins a relationship with David's brother Graham (Ray Stevenson) after he falsely claims to have separated from his own wife. When Alison discovers she's been drawn into another adulterous affair, she ends it, but Graham becomes dangerously obsessive. Matters become even more complicated when Alison falls pregnant with his child, prompting her and David, after attempting to reconcile, to pretend the baby is his—until Graham discovers the truth.

If that sounds dramatic, the third series somehow raises the stakes even further. Alison is awarded a Damehood for her charity work, only for a newspaper to reveal that it was 12-year-old Charlotte who bought the winning lottery ticket. Because under-16s cannot legally enter the lottery, the family finds themselves dragged through the courts as the lottery company attempts, and succeeds, in reclaiming every penny of their £38 million fortune. In true soap fashion, the money is restored in the last episode following a legal technicality and retrial.

By the fourth and final series, Alison and David are heading for divorce while all three daughters have become increasingly disillusioned with their mother. The series ends perfectly in keeping with its chaotic tone: the extended family are embroiled in yet another blazing argument when Charlotte casually announces she thinks she might be pregnant, leaving viewers with one final dose of delicious dysfunction.

At Home with the Braithwaites was an unexpected smash hit for Yorkshire Television, earning an almost immediate recommission for a second series, reportedly surprising even its cast. It's easy to understand why audiences embraced it. This souped-up soap barrels along at breakneck speed, packed with screaming rows, affairs, blackmail, catfights, misunderstandings and enough family secrets to fuel several dramas.

As the series progresses, Wainwright steadily darkens the tone without ever losing sight of the comedy. The Braithwaites are deeply flawed, selfish and argumentative people, yet they're impossible not to enjoy spending time with. Amanda Redman anchors the madness brilliantly, while Peter Davison brings sympathy to the hopelessly flawed David. Sarah Smart, Sarah Churn and Keeley Fawcett all shine as daughters whose lives are just as chaotic as their parents'.

Ultimately, At Home with the Braithwaites is about far more than a lottery jackpot. It explores how money magnifies existing cracks rather than fixing them, proving that wealth cannot buy happiness and, in the Braithwaites' case, often makes life considerably more miserable. Packed with laugh-out-loud moments, outrageous twists and surprisingly heartfelt emotion, it's one of the most entertaining British family dramas of the early 2000s and remains a joy to revisit.