 Elsie Kelly played Angela 's mother Maggie , on whose birthday the episode is set . The part was not written with anyone in mind , though Pemberton already knew Kelly well from their time together on the sitcom Benidorm . Lorraine Ashbourne played Angela 's sister Carol , and Pat , Carol 's husband , was played by Shearsmith . Carol was Pemberton 's favourite character in the whole series ; Shearsmith worried that an actor may not portray the character as they had hoped , but was very happy with Ashbourne 's performance . Ashbourne said she was " thrilled " to be working with Pemberton and Shearsmith , for whom she had great admiration . She described the character of Carol as " hilarious " , characterising her as " sexually frustrated " and " sad " . To reflect Carol 's alcoholism , Ashbourne swilled whiskey around her mouth before filming . Shearsmith wore a red wig to play Pat , something he had never done before . His skin @-@ tone needed to be changed to match the hair , necessitating a white spray on his face every morning . In order not to give the impression that Pat was a thief or murderer ( rather than simply a practical joker ) , Shearsmith was directed to chuckle while Pat set up his jokes . Christopher Whitlow plays a paramedic seen at the beginning and end of the episode . The scene featuring the paramedic at the end of the episode was longer in the final cut than had been initially intended in order to show more of the character 's actions . 
