One Foot in the Grave considered Les Dawson for the role, until Wilson changed his mind. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Set in a typical suburb in southern England, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Indoor scenes were filmed at BBC Television Centre with most exterior scenes filmed on Tresillian Way in Walkford on the Dorset/Hampshire border. Despite its traditional production, the series subverts its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism. The series was
One Foot in the Grave "Alive and Buried", "In Luton Airport, No One Can Hear You Scream", "Timeless Time" and "The Beast in the Cage". They are regularly repeated on the digital speech station BBC Radio 4 Extra and are available on audio CD. Wilson dislikes saying his character's catchphrase ("I don't believe it!") and only performs the line for charity events for a small fee. This became a joke in the actor's guest appearance as himself in the "Father Ted" episode "The Mainland", where Ted annoys him by constantly repeating his catchphrase. The situation was conceived when "Father Ted" writers Graham Linehan and Arthur