One Foot in the Grave early retiree Victor Meldrew, who after being made redundant from his job as a security guard, finds himself at war with the world and everything in it. Meldrew, cursed with misfortune and always complaining, is married to long-suffering wife Margaret, who is often left exasperated by his many misfortunes. Amongst other witnesses to Victor's wrath are tactless family friend Jean Warboys, and next-door couple Patrick (Victor's nemesis) and Pippa Trench. Patrick often discovers Victor in inexplicably bizarre or compromising situations, leading him to believe that he is insane. The Meldrews' neighbour on the other side, overly cheery charity worker Nick
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