Early Doors is a BBC sitcom written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey. Both writers appear in the series, playing the two characters of 'Joe' and 'Duffy' who are best friends. Early Doors is set at The Grapes, a small public house in the town of Stockport where daily life revolves around comical issues of love, loneliness and blocked urinals. Scenario The show is about a pub landlord named Ken , especially his preoccupation with his step-daughter Melanie, who is preparing to meet her real father and his nervous relationship with barmaid Tanya. Ken's wife left him for his best friend. The series reflects some of the Northern humour displayed in The Royle Family (co-written by Cash). In a similar style to The Royle Family, every scene unfolds at The Grapes and it is also set in Greater Manchester. Two series of the show were produced in 2003 and 2004. The series refers to Stockport landmarks, including Houldsworth Square and the McVitie's factory. Title The title is a British slang phrase meaning those who arrive earlier than is customary and was often associated with pub customers who wait for or arrive soon after evening opening, around 5:30 p.m. Until the Licensing Act 1988, pubs in England closed in the afternoon. Most are now open all day. It is also widely heard in British football circles and was resuscitated in comments about football. The phrase originates in the practice of British theatres from around 1870 of allowing customers who paid a little extra to enter the theatre early and choose their own seats to beat the rush just before the performance started. Regular characters Ken Dixon (John Henshaw) - Landlord of The Grapes, and lives in the flat upstairs with mother Jean and stepdaughter Melanie. Ken is usually sarcastic and has been shown at times to be slightly crooked, once looking at the results for the football cards, taking forged money from his police friends and putting a very small amount of charity money into his till. Despite these attributes he is consistently shown to be kind-hearted and sensitive. Joe (Craig Cash) and Duffy (Phil Mealey), real name Nigel - "The Lads" of the pub. Best mates Joe and Duffy's friendship goes back to their childhood. Duffy has children and has been in trouble with his wife for sleeping with other women. Janice (Maxine Peake) (Series 1 only) - Janice is