Characters / How Not to Live Your Life

Don Danbury

Played by: Dan Clark

An immature and socially inept man who inherits a massive house from his dead grandmother in the vain hope it will teach him some responsibility. Don's adventures usually involve trying to woo women out of his league or secure steady employment.

• Abhorrent Admirer: To both Abby and Samantha.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Don is shown to be very good at selling things (e.g. property in series 1 episode 5), but is content to remain at his cushy job in the art gallery.
• Camp Straight: He's not particularly manly and tends to wear his grandmother's dressing gown around the house.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Eddie.
• Insistent Terminology: Everyone calls him a dickhead. Don insists that he thinks with his balls, not his dick.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In spite of his antisocial behaviour, Don is capable of showing genuine affection when the situation calls for it. Too bad such moments are few and far between.
• Kavorka Man: Despite himself, he somehow managed to start the very series in bed with his former employer. She even offers to do one more booty call in the same episode.
• Manchild: A mopey, lazy sex pest.
• Mistaken for Gay: Don mistakes himself for gay.
• Simpleton Voice: Don's got a low-pitched voice that's in keeping with his idiocy, though he talks like he's way smarter than everyone else.
• Ultimate Job Security: He manages to hold onto his job at the art gallery for two whole series, despite not even turning up on time - if art all.

Eddie Singh

Played by: David Armand

A live-in carer for Don's dead grandmother. He's friendly and hardworking, but a bit odd.

• Faux Affably Evil: The Where Are They Now finale reveals that Eddie is now on the run for murder and his M.O. involves pampering his targets before killing them.
• Foil: To Don. Don is lazy, selfish and a lech. Eddie is hard-working, selfless and doesn't show much interest in sex.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Don.
• Hidden Depths: Eddie has an inhuman amount of talents and skills which are gradually revealed as the series goes on.
• Mistaken for Gay: He has a habit of calling Don "sexypants".
• Nice Guy: Even though he's technically not employed by Don, he still helps out around the house because he enjoys it.
• No Sense of Personal Space: He gets intimately close to Don (who's very uncomfortable at first, but gets used to it eventually), to the point where he gives Don sponge baths while the latter is asleep next to the woman he slept with the night before.

Mrs. Treacher

Played by: Leila Hoffman

Don's neighbour. A temperamental widow.

• Cool Old Lady: After the end of the series, it's mentioned that she became a drummer.
• Really Gets Around: Don tries to put her in a nursing home, but the staff demand he take her back after she works her way through the male residents. When Don comes by, he walks in on her between two men, urging them to hurry up.

Abby Jones

Played by: Sinead Moynihan

Don's love interest in the first series. She becomes his flatmate along with her boyfriend Carl.

• Back for the Finale: After being Put on a Bus between the first and second series, Abby returns in the Christmas special that ends the series.
• Betty and Veronica: Don being the Betty and Karl being the Veronica.
• Horrible Judge of Character: She's got two suitors, both of whom are arseholes that force her to side with either one of them.
• Hot Teacher: She's a very attractive primary school teacher.
• Nice Girl: She's incredibly chill when it comes to Don's weirdness.
• Noodle Incident: It's mentioned in Series 3 that she got married, only to be divorced by Christmas.
• Put on a Bus: She goes travelling during Series 2 and 3 before coming home for the finale.
• Romantic False Lead: Becomes this once Samantha is introduced.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Don.

Samantha Parker

Played by: Laura Haddock

Don's new flatmate/love interest. A university student.

• Foil: To Abby. Abby's a schoolteacher who doesn't challenge Don, while Samantha is a student who keeps him on his toes.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Aside from her sexual tension with Don, she's dated a series of sleazy men.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Has a fling with her professor.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Don.

Karl Menford

Played by: Finlay Robertson

Abby's boyfriend. A successful man with an over-inflated view of himself.

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: The first series ends with him becoming an official housemate. Come Series 2 and he's apparently never existed.
• Freudian Excuse: Karl's father treats him so badly that it makes his compulsive urge to brag seem downright pitiful.
• Jerkass: He's a pompous git who can't go five minutes without rubbing his successes in someone else's face.
• Only Sane Man: Dickish as he may be, Karl in the first series certainly qualifies. Although Abby is easily sane as well, her fondness for Don seems odd at times given his behaviour, and Karl makes his confusion about it very clear.
• Romantic False Lead: Despite being more stable than Don, his relationship with Abby shows some cracks.
• Spell My Name With An S: He's insistent on telling people that his name isn't spelt with a C.
• Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Once shouted "KISS MY ARSE!" in triumph just because he beat Don at minding children.
• Villainy-Free Villain: He never does anything morally wrong and his antagonism with Don is understandable considering Don's blatant advances on Abby, yet he's just so unlikable and smug that you can't warm up to him.

Jason

Played by: Daniel Lawrence Taylor

Don's boss at the art gallery. He's bewildered by Don's unprofessional behaviour, but keeps giving him chances.

• Benevolent Boss: As much as he wants to be rid of Don, Jason's kinder nature sees him rehiring Don out of pity.
• Love Triangle: In the Christmas special he takes an interest in Sam, but it doesn't last.
• Ship Tease: During the New Year's Eve party, he's seen hugging Abby while everyone else is kissing.

Brian

Played by: Silas Carson

Abby's professor and boyfriend.

• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Karl. While Karl was set up to be an unlikable yuppie who looked down on anyone who wasn't like himself, Brian doesn't judge others and he doesn't define himself through money or achievements.
• May–December Romance: Being Abby's professor means he's got a good 20 years on her.
• Nice Guy: A perfect gentleman. He never has anything bad to say about Don, even though Don goes out of his way to antagonise him.
• Romantic False Lead: He's straight-laced, while Abby likes to let her hair down every now and then, hinting that they're not as compatible as they'd like to be. To say nothing of the age difference.

Don's Grandmother

Despite dying before the series began, she's pivotal in starting the series.

• Posthumous Character: Don, Eddie and Mrs. Treacher have all interacted with her and bring her up regularly.
• Small Role, Big Impact: She gave Don her house to force him to grow up. While it took some time, Don does develop in such a way that wouldn't have happened if he'd received nothing.