Friday Night Dinner creator reveals the real people that inspired Martin, Jackie and Mr Morris
FRIDAY Night Dinner's creator has lifted the lid on the inspiration behind the characters of Martin, Jackie and Mr. Morris.
Writer Robert Popper, 52, came up with the idea of the show based off his own Jewish upbringing, with the Goodman family usually seen having Shabbat dinner together.
The producer sat down with some Jewish schoolchildren to answer some questions about his award-winning show, which is now in its sixth series.
According to The Jewish News, Robert was asked if the characters were based on people he knew in real life.
He replied: "Mr Morris was a man who went out with my grandma and looked a bit like him, but he was not quite as horrible."
"Martin the dad is based a bit on my dad as he never wore a top and my mum has the same colour hair as Jackie."
Robert then told a funny story about how he came up with the idea for the show, while sitting in the bath!
He joked: "Embarrassingly, I was in the bath when I came up with it 10 years ago. I just thought a comedy based around two boys (like my brother and I) coming home for dinner and regressing into children was funny.
He added: "A lot of people share that experience so I thought it was a good idea," before adding: "It was also a good bath."
Another schoolchild would challenge Popper on how he was able to make a very stereotypical and simple story so engaging and funny.
Of course the author was happy to oblige, as he explained: "Well I thought lots of people would identify with going home to their parents for Friday night or for Sunday lunch."
He continued: "I hoped they would recognise becoming 12-year-olds again when you go home and, as for making it funny, well I spend a long time writing it and the actors are brilliant and and there is a great team behind the show working with me and making suggestions.
Ahead of tonight's episode, Friday Night Dinner hints that there may some romance in the air for "Auntie" Val, who tries her hand at online dating.
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She will take over cooking duties from Jackie after a shocking death in last week's episode, when strange next door neighbour Jim's magic trick killed Cynthia Goodman, known as Horrible Grandma.
In a preview clip for the fifth episode of series six, Val (Tracy-Ann Oberman) is excited when she receives a text from a man on a dating app, who she claims she has been "stalking for months."
Things went a step further as Val's admirer Colin, who went by the name of loverboy309 on the app, plans to take her out and pick her up from the Goodman residence in 40 minutes' time.
The family were shocked to hear that Val would be bringing their dinner time forward as she said emphatically: "Sorry but I refuse to miss out on a piece of that!"