the victims of the joke. Sight gags are also frequently used, while verbal gags and witticisms are incorporated into almost every line of script. For the first series, episodes were written by Mack and Andrew Collins, with members of the cast credited for additional material. Because the eight episodes of the second season had to be written and filmed in a short space of time, Avalon Television brought in Nick Stacey, Paul Kerensa and Simon Evans to join the writing team. Mack, Collins and Stacey concentrated on writing the main body of the episodes whilst Kerensa and Evans were involved in storylining, rewriting and 'gagging up' the episodes. The third series saw the writing team expanded, with Darin Henry, Daniel Peak, and Simon Dean contributing to the main episodes (all co-written with Mack). The "gag writing" team was also expanded, from two members to as many as eight, not counting the main writers, on a single episode. Milton Jones was among the additional writers of the show. In the original pilot of the series, which has not been aired, the part of Kate was played by Catherine Tate. However, due to the success of The Catherine Tate Show, the American actress Megan Dodds was cast in the role and the character developed accordingly. The theme song is performed by Frank Sinatra impersonator Stephen Triffitt. The flat in which Lee and Kate/Lucy lived from 2006 to 2015 is No. 17. In a DVD commentary for the first series, it was mentioned that "Number 17" was originally considered as a title for the series, before the name "Not Going Out" was decided upon. DVD releases Although filmed and broadcast in HD, no Blu-rays have been released to date. All episodes up to the end of Series 4 feature different video post-production to the broadcast versions, giving them a US-style 'filmlook' effect, however this was dropped from the Series 5 DVD onwards. The episodes Movie and Drunk are slightly extended for DVD, featuring shots and lines cut or censored for their original BBC One transmission. Some music tracks are replaced by soundalikes for release. Not Going Out 6 does not include the 2013 Christmas Special, "The House". It is however included on The Christmas Specials and The Complete Series 1–7. References External links 2006 British television series debuts 2000s British romantic comedy television series 2000s British sitcoms 2010s British romantic comedy television series