Executive producer Diederick Santer has discussed the "wonderfully dysfunctional mother-son relationship" Nick shares with Dot and her perpetual willingness to give Nick another chance regardless of his history of wrongdoing. Santer explained: "There’s that thing where you sort of dare to hope that someone’s changed, which is really tragic. They’ve let you down a hundred times, and yet you still hope that the hundred and first time they’ll have changed." Actor Leslie Grantham has stated that Dot is the "one friend in [Nick's] life", while series story producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins has affirmed: "Dot’s always going to forgive him. And that’s the beauty of Nick and Dot." Concurring with this sentiment, John Altman (Nick) agreed: "No matter what he does, she’ll forgive him. So did a lot of gangsters' mothers throughout history. Probably Al Capone's mother thought he was a sweet lad, you know."