The series received some complaints over the accuracy of its "Birmingham" accents, and Michelle Holmes, making her first full appearance after appearing at the end of the previous episode, seems to lack consistency.
The accent she puts on seems to serve only as a "mask" to her own real Lancastrian accent, with her real voice creeping through for many words. The "Brummie" accent she puts on is also overpronounced, pushing it more towards a Wolverhampton accent. (As Wolverhampton is a distance of just 12 miles from Birmingham, such things may not have been immediately obvious to viewers from outside of the West Midlands.)
Even more problematical is Paula Jacobs as a landlady, with the Liverpool actress's accent seeming to travel over most regions of England without ever settling on one.
The accent she puts on seems to serve only as a "mask" to her own real Lancastrian accent, with her real voice creeping through for many words. The "Brummie" accent she puts on is also overpronounced, pushing it more towards a Wolverhampton accent. (As Wolverhampton is a distance of just 12 miles from Birmingham, such things may not have been immediately obvious to viewers from outside of the West Midlands.)
Even more problematical is Paula Jacobs as a landlady, with the Liverpool actress's accent seeming to travel over most regions of England without ever settling on one.
This edition and the first episode contain somewhat coarse jokes from Maisie (Anna Keaveney) about her husband (Shaun Curry) being under-endowed, telling her friend Rita that if Bert were to undress in front of a window: "Nobody'd notice if he did."
However, as Episode #1.4 (1987) showed, this clearly wasn't the case, with viewers unable to avoid seeing evidence to the contrary.
However, as Episode #1.4 (1987) showed, this clearly wasn't the case, with viewers unable to avoid seeing evidence to the contrary.