 The episode's action revolves around the practical joke involving the cake and, in particular, viewers' attempts to guess what has caused injury, as they know that the paramedic will be coming. Both Angela and the alcoholic Carol are "ticking time-bomb [s]". Angela is the central character, and is similar to a more anxious version of Sue Brockman, Skinner's character from Outnumbered. She is stressed and obsessive-compulsive, but aspirational, fastidious, and dutiful. The comedy critic Bruce Dessau compared Ashbourne's characterisation of Carol to Elizabeth Taylor's characterisation in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?; as the episode progresses, Carol becomes increasingly abusive. Commentators variously described Pat as "appalling", "tiresome", an "irritating tit" and "an insufferable booby". For Chris Bennion, writing in The Independent, Pat's character is more complex: "Behind Pat's cheesy jokes and schoolboy tomfoolery lies a desperately sad and dignified man, standing by and caring for a wife whose love for him has long gone." Pat and Carol, for Pemberton and Shearsmith, have a more honest relationship than Jim and Angela, despite the problems in their relationship.
