Thing About Vince, The – Nostalgia Central

2 0 0 0 (UK)
3 x 60 minute episodes

Directed by Christopher King, this three-part ITV comedy miniseries follows Vince Skinner (Timothy Spall), a fortysomething self-employed London builder who finds himself at an existential crossroads.

Attending a weekend hobby convention for tropical fish fanciers, Vince stays up all night talking and drinking with a beautiful (and much younger) woman.

Although it is physically platonic, the encounter triggers an escalating series of misunderstandings, paranoia, and comical crises that snowball to completely disrupt his marriage, family dynamic, and quiet suburban life.

When Vince returns home to London, he is overcome with guilt and paranoia, and instead of being honest with his long-suffering wife, Wendy (Marion Bailey), he constructs a web of lies to cover up where he was that night when he missed her phone call.

Wendy becomes convinced that her husband is having a full-blown, passionate affair, but rather than confronting him, her suspicions trigger a massive communication breakdown.

She enlists the help of her opinionated family members – including Ray (Peter Vaughan) and Pat (Sheila Hancock) – who immediately assume the worst of Vince.

The family dynamic turns toxic as they begin ostracising Vince and treating him like a guilty scoundrel (without any proof).

He insists nothing happened, but Wendy throws him out anyway, and takes off to Paris with new admirer Gordon Bradshaw (Richard Graham) as Vince camps out in his parents’ living room before moving into a dingy bedsit.

As Vince desperately tries to repair his reputation and save his crumbling marriage, his clumsy cover-up attempts only serve to make him look even more culpable.

Every move he makes to smooth things over blows up in his face, turning minor domestic friction into highly public, comically absurd suburban crises.

The series climaxes with Vince pushed to his absolute limit, forced to confront his deep-seated insecurities about ageing and identity, while trying – amidst the melodrama of wedding arrangements for his daughter, Sally (Kelly Bright) and her nerdy fiancé Paul (Jamie Glover) – to prove his loyalty to a family that has completely turned against him.

In 2002, Carlton America partnered with Studios USA to develop an American sitcom adaptation based entirely on The Thing About Vince. Despite backing from two major media entities, the project ultimately stalled in development and never produced a full-season order or broadcast pilot.

Vince Skinner
Timothy Spall
Wendy Skinner
Marion Bailey
Ray
Peter Vaughan
Pat
Sheila Hancock
Sally 
Kellie Bright
Paul
Jamie Glover
John
Bob Mason
Monk
Chris Gascoyne
Robin
Perry Blanks
Dr Venn
Jeremy Swift
Lisa
Amanda Abbington
Mrs Cuffy
Jeillo Edwards
Zoe
Fiona Allen