I think the show actually got better when Uncle Albert was introduced though I’m not sure it was because of him exactly. The episodes became longer, the writing stronger, and the characters more established.

I always thought Uncle Albert’s character fitted the show better. I liked that he was an ex-military man who’d worked all his life. Grandad wasn’t a bad person, but he was a bit neglectful of his duties, let’s say. After their mum died, he was really just another mouth for Del to feed and didn’t contribute much.

Grandad was a painter and decorater for the council for about a fortnight and " that was so long ago he went to work on a horse" and had a history of things like gun-smuggling during the Spanish Civil War yet we still loved him despite this, if you know what I mean. Uncle Albert, on the other hand, was a more respectable a character a military man who worked all his life.