The Dentons are loosely based on real relatives of Jeremy Dyson, who went to stay with his relatives who told him to make himself at home, but found himself breaking lots of rules that he didn't know existed.
The character of Pauline is based on a restart officer that Reece Shearsmith had.
Tubbs and Edward were based on a real incident which occurred when the cast visited a small shop. The woman behind the counter acted scared, like they were about to rob her.
Papa Lazarou is inspired by a landlord, of the same name, that the writers had when they were sharing a flat, who would frequently phone them up and ask to speak to Steve Pemberton. He would continue saying "Hello, Steve," "Is Steve there?". The League soon changed the name to Dave.
The surveyor team in the second episode are named after Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, the assassins in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971).