The plot involving Victor's window-cleaning business collapsing overnight after a vicious review in the local newspaper was inspired partly by the reception of Duck Patrol (1998), a short-lived sitcom that Richard Wilson had starred in a couple of years prior. While David Renwick had no involvement with that show, he agreed with Wilson that many of the critics' reviews crossed the line into personal attacks against its creators, and that networks didn't give new shows enough of a chance, with ITV having decided against renewing Duck Patrol after only two episodes had aired.
David Renwick: One Foot In The Grave's writer, on the Meldrew's TV, as a gentleman being interviewed on Irritable Bowel Syndrome.