members of staff; her catchphrase is "he was an engine driver you know". She very often muddles her words and seems to be fond of Harry (who always ignores her advances) and Gloria (Lindsay Grimshaw), Jack and May's pretty teenage daughter, who loves wearing short skirts, much to the chagrin of her father. She shows an interest in men, but Jack is over-protective and will not let any man take her out. Several other members of railway staff appear, including an older engine driver Arnold Thomas (Ivor Roberts); his inexperienced fireman Ralph (Perry Benson), who is training to be a driver; and the flirtatious guard, Percy (Terry John), with whom Ethel appears to be quite besotted at times. He returns her advances, but seems to prefer Gloria's friend, Amy Matlock (Tara Daniels), who appears in most episodes, albeit usually briefly. Richard Spendlove, one of the writers and the co-creator, also appeared in several episodes as Mr Orkindale, the district inspector. Soon the new stationmaster arrives in the guise of Cecil Parkin (Jeffrey Holland), a stern, well spoken man. He is amazed to learn that the café is run by May (then called Blanchflower), with whom he had a passionate fling during the war before she married Jack – although we later learn that she was seeing both of them at the same time. Although Jack is in the dark as to May and Cecil's history, he takes an instant dislike to the new stationmaster. A running subplot to the series is the question of whether Gloria is actually Jack's daughter, or the result of May's fling with Cecil (although in the second series episode "Father's Day", it is generally concluded that Jack is her father). Meanwhile, at the end of the episode a newspaper article is found threatening the station with closure under the Beeching Axe, which begins the series. A running gag in the series is Vera almost finding out about Cecil and May's relationship. Mr Parkin steals every moment he possibly can with May, often sneaking into the kitchen near the beginning of the day, before anyone else has arrived and Vera catching them almost every time. The series ran for two series, although the final episode did not conclude by answering whether the station was going to be closed, as it was unknown at the time of production whether a third series would be produced or not.