Is It Legal?

Is It Legal? is a British television sitcom set in a solicitors office in Hounslow, west London, which ran from 12 September 1995 to 9 December 1998. It was produced by Hartswood Films and was shown on ITV for Series 1–2 and Channel 4 for Series 3. It was written by Simon Nye, who also wrote other ITV sitcoms such as Men Behaving Badly and Hardware.

Cast

 * Richard Lumsden – Colin Lotus
 * Jeremy Clyde – Dick Spackman (Series 1–2)
 * Imelda Staunton – Stella Phelps
 * Patrick Barlow – Bob Birch
 * Kate Isitt – Alison
 * Matthew Ashforde – Darren
 * Nicole Arumugam – Sarah Chivers

Guest stars

 * John Thomson – Paramedic in "Death In Hounslow"
 * Jono Coleman – Radio DJ in "Hounslow FM"
 * Ben Miles – Tom in "Alison Gets Laid"
 * Chris Langham – Mr Etherington in "Darren's Revenge"
 * Alexander Armstrong – Nick in "New Bloke"
 * Kate Lonergan – Mrs Beath in "Office Party"

Colin Lotus
Lotus is the junior partner of the firm and succeeded his father once he had retired. Colin is very proud to be a solicitor and is enthusiastic about his work, but unfortunately he is naive and often makes stupid mistakes. Usually Bob resolves Colin's messes.

Colin is very helpful to the rest of the firm despite the fact that they all think he is annoying and that he is very strange. He is a bachelor but has a dog, Tucker. He remained a bachelor despite having a one-night stand in "Office Party" with the wife of an imprisoned client. In "Glad To Be Colin" and "New Bloke" he started a relationship with Sarah who had appeared in the previous two series as the delivery girl from Mr. Bappy, the sandwich shop that was below the office. As a result, there was tension between Colin and Bob, as Bob previously had a crush on Sarah and contemplated pursuing a romantic relationship with her.

Dick Spackman
Spackman is one of the senior partners of the firm, but his knowledge of law is limited. Dick is very arrogant and often disregards others to make his life more convenient. Most of his time is spent in his office drinking glasses of sherry, watching golf on the television and not doing any work. He sees his position in the firm as bringing the work in which is completed by Stella, Bob or Colin. Dick's last appearance in the series was in "Indecision." In "A Question of Pants" it was revealed that Dick had taken early retirement, resulting in Stella being the form's sole senior partner.

Stella Phelps
Stella Phelps is a senior partner of the firm. She had an ambition of being a solicitor since childhood, and she always tried to succeed in being the most professional solicitor. However, the rest of the firm, especially partners Colin and Dick, hold her back because of their inept attitude towards law and the legal profession.

Bob Birch
Bob is the office manager of Lotus, Spackman & Phelps, and is, aside from Stella, probably the most competent employee of the firm. A very dedicated worker, Bob tends toward bossiness and is a bit of a prude, which tends to grate on many of his co-workers.

He fell in love with Sarah, a worker at the sandwich shop Mr. Bappy which is located in the same building as the firm. Bob pursued her—despite her apparent lack of interest and his allergy to bread products. This eventually led to the dissolution of his marriage and a drawer full of odd-flavoured baps. During the third series, he and Stella became a couple.

Alison
Alison is the sexy secretary who has a job at the firm only because her estate agent boyfriend sends them many clients who need conveyancing services. She is constantly bored and likes to annoy the other members of the firm, particularly Bob, because of his crush on Sarah.

Darren
Darren is the firm's office assistant and general jack-of-all-trades. Generally seen as incompetent at his job, but he remains on good terms with Bob and Colin despite Stella's obvious dislike of him. His object of affection is Alison.

Filming locations
Interior shots were filmed at Teddington Studios in south-west London

Exterior shots were filmed in and around Staines and Walton-on-Thames.

Awards
It won the British Comedy Award for "Best ITV Sitcom" in 1995.

DVD releases
All three series of Is It Legal? were released on DVD by Network between September 2010 and March 2011.