June Monsoon [June Whitfield] is Edina’s mother and Saffy’s Gran. A widow, she has her eye on a suave, toupee-wearing agent called Brice. She has recently taken up surfing the net and has tried her hand at salsa dancing. Mother is loveable but tactless, her "helpful" comments doing little to diffuse the tensions between Edina and Saffy.

Edina Moonsoon international PR guru is divorced, with a daughter, Saffron, and a son, Serge. A fad-follower and fashion victim with highly questionable dress sense, her alcohol consumption and capacity for outrageous behaviour are surpassed only by the excesses of her best friend, Patsy. She lives off the income generated by her two businesses, Monsoon PR and its TV production arm, Radical TV. Her two ex-husbands cut off her alimony after discovering that they were both supporting her.

Marshall is Edina’s first husband and Serge’s father. Marshall went to Hollywood 20 years ago to develop a screenplay. He is now a Rabbi. His girlfriend Bo is loud, blonde and American. Marshall, Justin and Bo lend their support to Saffy on her play’s opening night.

Justin, Edina’s second husband, is Saffron’s dad. Much to Edina’s annoyance, Justin is supportive of his daughter, visits her often and even carries around a photo of her in his wallet. Justin is gay and runs an antique shop with his lover, Oliver.

Saffron Monsoon the polar opposite of her fast-living, wild-child mother, Saffy sees Patsy as a parasite, living off Edina and corrupting her. She has a strong sense of morals and shockingly dowdy dress sense, but no boyfriend - well no one she would introduce her mother to. She is a dedicated fan of Cherie Blair and fancies herself as a playwright, having recently penned a play about her young life, entitled Self-Raising Flower.

Never seen but oft mentioned, Serge is Edina’s son by her first husband, Marshall. He has been spotted in the Arctic and in a volcano in Hawaii. He is currently in a submarine at the bottom of the Atlantic, studying plate movements.

Patsy Stone is Edina’s best friend. She works for a British fashion magazine in the newly elevated position of Managing Editor. Patsy, who makes no secret of the fact that her CV got to the top of the pile after she slept with the publisher, now even has less work to do than before. She lives on champagne, cigarettes and a variety of banned substances and is usually responsible for convincing Edina that a bad idea is a good idea.

Bubble, Edina’s air-head assistant, appears to be the only member of staff on Radical TV’s books - what a terrifying thought. Always dressed in the most ludicrous ensembles (she recently travelled to Paris in a Napoleon outfit), she is convinced that Martians will soon be coming to whisk her away in their spaceship…

Excitable TV presenter Katy Grin is Bubble’s cousin (you may be able to spot the family resemblance). Having started her career presenting local news bulletins, she has spent years attempting to scale the slippery slope of success and continues to cling on - desperately. She is brusque, self-confident and her enthusiasm is unrivalled - if there’s an earpiece in sight, she’s wearing it. Edina and Patsy are not fans.