The Braithwaites are a British television family with several twists. Dad David (Peter Davison) is a bank manager having an affair with his personal assistant. School age daughters Sarah (Sarah Churm) and Charlotte (Keeley Fawcett) annoy one other constantly. Slacker lesbian daughter Virginia (Sarah Smart) was kicked out of university for her bad grades. Oh, and mother Alison (Amanda Redman) has just won the Euro-Lottery for 38 million pounds.

Virginia fantasizes about their neighbor Megan (Julie Graham, Preaching to the Perverted), a shallow small time actress and mother of two. Alison sets about creating a non-profit company to help people with her newfound fortune and doesn't tell her family about her winnings.

Alison is a likeable, interesting character, and when Virginia comes out to her, she is the mother we'd all love to have. Unfortunately, Virginia, on the other hand, is rather selfish and whiny, so it's hard to care about her love life (or lack of it). By the end of season one though, it does appear that she's found a woman who is also interested in her.

The six episode first season is a compelling dramatic comedy about a family with a lot of secrets and includes great acting, especially from Redman as Alison. Nominated for an international Emmy and several British tv awards, it ran for four seasons and sometimes shows on BBC America.