Mam

Mam is the steady centre of the Briggs household, the one keeping order while chaos swirls around young Jonny's schemes and scrapes. She runs the home with brisk affection, dispensing common sense and mild exasperation in equal measure, more interested in getting through the day intact than in indulging anyone's nonsense.

Jane Lowe plays her with the dry, unshowy patience that every domestic sitcom needs and too few get right: she's the gravity holding the family comedy together rather than a punchline generator herself. It's a performance built on timing and restraint, letting the noisier characters bounce off her calm.