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 bad luck. The audience sees a philosophical ebb to his character, however, along with a degree of optimism. Yet his polite façade collapses when events get the better of him, and a full verbal onslaught is forthcoming. "Victor-isms" include "I do not believe it!", "I don't believe it!", "Un-be-lievable!", "What in the name of bloody hell?", "In the name of sanity!". Despite his grumpy demeanor Victor isn't totally devoid of compassionin "Hearts of Darkness" he liberates elderly nursing home residents that were being mistreated by the staff and in "Descent Into The Maelstrom" he calls the incident room number and