At Home with the Braithwaites

Did You Know?

• The series was shown on ABC and UK.TV in Australia.
• It aired on BBC America in the United States.
• The series was broadcast on TVB Pearl in Hong Kong.

Premise

In the first series of six episodes, Alison decides not to tell her family about the lottery win, fearing a negative effect. She starts a charity with her friend Marion and an out-of-work accountant, Pauline. David regrets his affair. Virginia falls in love with new neighbour Megan, who is selfish and manipulative. Journalists try to uncover the mystery winner. Sarah, rejected by her drama teacher, sleeps with neighbour Phil and becomes pregnant. By the end, the lottery win and David's affair are revealed. In the second series of eight episodes, the Braithwaites move to a countryside mansion. Alison and David separate, and Alison has a romance with David's brother Graham, which ends when she learns he is still with his wife. Sarah gives birth to a son and secretly marries Phil. Charlotte is bullied at school due to the family's wealth. Virginia dates Tamsin but remains obsessed with Megan. Alison and David decide to try again. In the third series of six episodes, Alison is made a dame for her charity work and discovers she is pregnant with Graham's baby. David suggests pretending he is the father, but the truth emerges. Tamsin is pregnant from a one-night stand; she and Virginia plan to raise the child together until Tamsin sees Virginia's infatuation with Megan. A newspaper reports that 12-year-old Charlotte bought the winning ticket, and the lottery company sues to reclaim the £38 million. Alison confesses during the trial, forcing the family back to their old home. Sarah begins an affair with a married teacher. Alison gives birth to a daughter, Katherine, and the family recovers their fortune after a legal technicality and retrial.

Characters

Alison Braithwaite, the family matriarch, is a principled and generous woman whose well-meaning lies often end up causing harm to those she loves. After a lottery win, she reinvents herself with a flashy, Dynasty-inspired wardrobe, though one character remarks that her fashion sense is lacking. She embarks on affairs with both her brother-in-law and her gardener, who is two decades younger. Her husband David, the family patriarch, maintains a distant relationship with his children and shares a particularly tense bond with his eldest daughter, Virginia, yet she is the only one he trusts with his secrets. David is involved in a long-term affair with his personal assistant and harbors a deep dislike for his younger brother Graham, who becomes Alison’s lover. Virginia, the eldest child, is reckless, irresponsible, and often self-centered. She is closest to her mother but serves as a confidante for both parents. Openly lesbian, she is in a steady relationship with Tamsin and has a sporadic affair with Megan. She works as a mechanic from time to time and attends the University of York. Her sister Sarah describes her as a “chain-smoking, screwed-up dyke.” Sarah, the middle daughter, is immature, clingy, and sexually active. She becomes pregnant by a neighbor in the first series, marries and divorces him in the second, and has an affair with a teacher in the third. She is typically the last to learn family secrets, as her parents confide in Virginia and Charlotte’s curiosity usually reveals the truth. Charlotte, the youngest, is an awkward, quiet teenager who uncovers secrets through her nosy nature and occasionally displays sociopathic tendencies. Megan, a neighbor, is cruel and scheming, constantly threatening the Braithwaites’ happiness, especially through her affair with Virginia; she dies by electrocution in the fourth series. Her husband Mike is drawn to Alison, who pities his loneliness, while the rest of the family finds him irritating. He is self-pitying, self-righteous, and self-indulgent, often delivering long, drunken speeches. David describes him as the kind of person you invite to a party hoping he won’t show up.

Home media

The complete first series was released on VHS in the UK on 2 February 2001 from 2Entertain. The entire series is available on Region 2 DVD in the UK from Network, both individually and as a complete boxset. The first two series have been released on Region 1 DVD in the United States and Canada via Acorn DVD. The series is also available on Region 4 in Australia and New Zealand through Shock Records, though the third and fourth series Region 4 DVDs are missing segments from episodes, while Region 2 sets are complete and uncut. All four series were re-released individually on Region 4 via Roadshow Entertainment. The first series DVD has 2 discs, a 4:3 aspect ratio, Dolby Digital 2.0 audio, a BBFC rating of 15, an ACB rating of M, and special features including cast filmographies and a photo gallery on Region 1 only; no subtitles.