At Home with the Braithwaites
At Home with the Braithwaites is a British comedy-drama television series, created and written by Sally Wainwright. The storyline follows a suburban family from Leeds, whose life is turned upside down when the mother of the family wins 38 million pounds on the lottery. It was broadcast on ITV, for 26 episodes, from 20 January 2000 to 9 April 2003. At the beginning of the first series, each member of the Braithwaite family has an issue. Alison has to decide what to do with the winnings, and when to tell her family. David is having an affair with Elaine, his secretary at work. Virginia is on the verge of flunking out of university. Sarah has a crush on her drama teacher. Charlotte suspects that her mother may be the mystery lottery winner.
Virginia is living with Megan at university, and she and Alison are not talking to each other. Sarah is back at school doing her A-levels and living with Daniel and Charlotte is cross with her mother for not patching things up with Virginia.
Sarah is hard at work on a new business, 'Tying the Knot', which plans people's weddings for them. In fact, she has already offered to plan Virginia and Megan's blessing. She also picks up another client, policewoman Ciara Pickering.
Virginia is in turmoil. She is due to be marrying Megan any minute, but she is also still seeing Tamsin. She tries to tell them about each other, but she just can't do it.
It's judgment day in the divorce hearing and all parties are nervous. Alison has sent Marion to the court on her behalf, and David and Elaine are there in person. It's also the day that Virginia and Megan get back from their honeymoon, and clearly things haven't gone well.
David cannot believe that Alison has murdered Megan, but he cannot deny that she is lying dead in the bath and that Alison was the last person to see her alive. Alison, meanwhile, has gone back to the mansion to look for David.
As the day of Phil and Ciara's wedding dawns, Alison is greeted by the postman delivering her Decree Absolute and by Mike packing up his house to move away. Phil, meanwhile, is having doubts about the wedding; his kiss with Sarah has led him to question whether he really loves Ciara.
Alison is awarded a dame-hood by the Queen for her charity work but her joy is short lived when she discovers that she is pregnant. David is delighted by this but is unaware that the baby is actually his brother Graham's.
David suggests that Alison tells everyone that the baby is actually his with no one - especially not Graham - knowing the truth and together they tell everyone about the pregnancy.
Alison, now six months pregnant, has to defend her lottery win in court after the lottery has contested it. All Alison has to do is stick to the line that she - rather than under-age daughter Charlotte - bought the ticket.
A death in the family brings Alison and David closer together - before they cross paths with an unwelcome visitor. Elsewhere, Sarah exacts revenge on a cheating Daniel.
Already rattled by Charlotte's odd behaviour and fed up with David trying to blame her for everything, Alison is pushed to her limits when Graham insists on his right to be involved with the baby.
A shocked and still drunk David calls Alison and tells her that he has robbed a bank. Alison, of course, doesn't believe a word and tells him to sober up. But a report of a bank robbery on the local news has Alison starting to fear the worst.
Alison Braithwaite's lottery win is no longer a secret and the family have left the suburbs behind to live in a mansion in the country.
Alison has decided to call off the divorce. The girls organise a surprise second honeymoon in the Lake District for their parents but David had been planning his own surprise trip to New York.
It's Charlotte's birthday and David has forgotten. It seems like Alison and David's marriage is, once again, over. David's brother Graham turns up and his marriage is in trouble too. Will Alison go out for dinner with him?
The Braithwaites appear to have split up for good and Sarah and Baby William move in with David. Charlotte tries to help bring the family back together by signing them up for a TV quiz show, 'Family Challenge'.
Alison has fallen in love with Graham. David has hired a private detective to follow his wife and is devastated when he finds his worst fears have come true. Feeling desperate he confronts her and asks if they can get back together.
Graham now has his feet under the table at the mansion much to Charlotte's disgust. Due to her unhappiness she disappears on her first day at a new school causing much worry for Alison and David.
Charlotte summons David and her sisters out to the moors where she has lured Graham down a mine. Once Graham is rescued, David's resentment of his brother leads to the two of them having a fight.
Alison is struggling to deal with the news that David thinks he has murdered Graham when Tamsin phones to tell her that Virginia has fallen into a river. Fearing a suicide attempt Alison and David rush to their daughter's bedside in hospital.
On her 40th birthday Alison Braithwaite, is given a ticket for the first ever Euro-lottery, by her youngest daughter Charlotte. Alison wins the jackpot worth £38 million pounds, she decides to use the money for worthwhile causes, but will she tell her family about the win.
The charity Alison has set up, is overwhelmed by begging letters. Pauline her accountant persuades Alison that it needs to expand, but will they be able to protect Alison's identity as the lottery winner. Alison decides it time to tell her family, about the win.
David has agreed to spend the night with Elaine, but is now in a state of anxiety. Sarah gives her drama teacher a poem revealing her feelings for him - then discovers he has a girlfriend. Virginia, already depressed by Megan's rejection, gets mugged. She confides everything to Alison who also has a secret to tell.
Virginia now works for Alison's charity. When David tells Alison that he hates his job, she suggests he could get a job at the trust. David decides to end his affair. He also suggests to Sarah that Phil's not right for her. But Phil knows that David is in no position to preach.
David is delighted with his new job at the trust, until he finds that Sarah has left home to move into a bedsit with Phil. He goes to plead with her not to tell Alison about his affair. McGuire, a local journalist, gets into the Jane Crowther building to confront Alison, Pauline, Marion and Virginia.
Sarah struggles to decide what to do about the pregnancy, a furious Denise leaves Alison a message telling her about David's affair and McGuire finally knows the truth about the lottery winner. With both their secrets out can Alison and David's marriage survive?
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Release | 2000-01-20 |
| Producer |