''Fortysomething'' is a 2003 British comedy-drama series set in

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...

(who also directed the initial three episodes of the series) stars as Paul Slippery, a doctor facing a mid-life crisis. His wife Estelle (

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

) is starting a new career as a headhunter. His three sons, Rory (

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence O ...

), a student at the fictitious University of

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

, Daniel (Neil Henry) and Edwin ( Joe Van Moyland), are sex-obsessed. Meanwhile, Paul appears to hear the inner thoughts of others. Other important characters include Paul's colleague and nemesis, Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey (

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

), and Estelle's new employer, Gwendolen Hartley (

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musica ...

). The series was written by Nigel Williams based on his 1999 novel of the same name. The six episodes of the series were broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. Although a ratings failure on first transmission, leading to it being moved to an off-peak timeslot midway through the run, the appearance of Laurie, Cumberbatch and Capaldi, all of whom went on to greater fame, has subsequently led the series to sell well on DVD.

Cast and characters

Episodes

;Episode 1 Paul wakes up one morning with the apparent ability to hear other people's thoughts. He is unable to remember certain things about his life, including when was the last time he had sex and his twentieth wedding anniversary. Rory is incensed that Daniel is trying to seduce his recently estranged girlfriend, Laura. Estelle discovers that her new job disappeared during a managerial restructuring of her company and leaves a vague message on Rory's phone that leads Paul to suspect that she is a lesbian. He tries to reclaim his wife while also dealing with the death of a patient and the delivery of several fridges for Edwin. ;Episode 2 Paul resolves to have sex and plans to cook an erotic dinner for Estelle. Edwin again has a large shipment delivered to the house, this time of

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

s. Rory starts his new job at a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...

where he recognizes an old fellow cast member who played

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

. Laura has moved in with Daniel just as his girlfriend, Lucy, returns from her trip to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Lucy, who is also Laura's sister, finds Laura at the house, wearing only Daniel's shirt. She calls their father and tells him. Dr Pilfrey finds Estelle at her new job in an attempt to woo her. Paul tries to avoid a medical examination of Mr Proek's (Laura and Lucy's father) bottom by pretending to be a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

doctor whenever Mr Proek calls.

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

appears as a

fishmonger A fishmonger (historically fishwife for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, m ...

. Hugh Laurie gives a memorable version of a

accent. ;Episode 3 Laura and Lucy are now both sleeping at the Slippery house but not with Daniel. He still does not want to choose between them. Meanwhile, Rory realizes he has feelings for Lucy. Dr Pilfrey continues his fixation with Estelle and, as Estelle reveals to Paul, regularly e-mails her love letters. Edwin replies to one of the e-mails as Estelle and tells Dr Pilfrey that she is in love with him. Edwin arrives at the clinic in a suit for lunch with Paul and is mistaken by Dr Pilfrey as a

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

inspector. ;Episode 4 Edwin purchases a herbal

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...

containing essence of "rudeberry" and convinces Rory, Daniel, Lucy, Laura, and their cousin, Woj, to pull a con on Paul. Paul pays Edwin for the whole bottle and laces Estelle's

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature ...

sandwich with it. Laura reveals that she got a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

of Daniel's name on her bottom and has to go to Paul's clinic when it appears to have become infected. Laura reconsiders her relationship with Daniel, and meanwhile Rory and Edwin express their disapproval to Daniel for coercing her into getting the tattoo. In order to hear Estelle's speech at a women-only meeting, Paul dons a

burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...

and goes in disguise as "Yasmin". ;Episode 5 Paul accidentally attends an AA meeting. Thinking Estelle is having affairs with all of his oldest friends, Paul makes a play for fellow GP, Surinder. Estelle surprises Paul with a party where his friends believe they are staging an intervention. Lucy and Laura respectively break up with Rory and Daniel. Daniel's company makes a visit to Rory's homeless shelter. Hugh Laurie briefly plays the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and sings. ;Episode 6 Rory and Daniel move out of the house and into their own flat. Distraught by their leaving and her relationship with Paul, Estelle moves in with her boss, Gwendolen. Hoping to find a way to get his wife back, Paul has Dr Pilfrey hypnotize him. Dr Pilfrey is jealous of Paul's ease with people so he hypnotizes Paul to cluck like a chicken whenever Paul gets in touch with someone. Edwin and Woj begin a sexual relationship. Laura reunites with Rory, and Lucy reunites with Daniel, returning to their original relationships from the beginning of the series. Joe Van Moyland briefly plays the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and sings.

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0370139, title=Fortysomething 2003 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings 2000s British comedy-drama television series Carlton Television English-language television shows Infidelity in television ITV comedy-dramas Midlife crisis in television Television shows based on British novels Television series about brothers Television series about dysfunctional families Television series by ITV Studios Wimbledon, London