Only Child (TV series)

Only Child is a 2024 British comedy sitcom series starring Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh. It was released on BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer on 21 November 2024 and BBC One on 22 November 2024. A second series was commissioned in May 2025.^[1]

Only Child
Screenplay by	Bryce Hart
Directed by	Al Campbell Holly Walsh
Starring	Gregor Fisher Greg McHugh
Theme music composer	toydrum
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producer	Neil Webster
Producer	Ursula Haworth
Production company	Happy Tramp North
Original release
Network	BBC Scotland
Release	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21) – present

Synopsis

Richard Pritchard, an actor, returns from London to visit his recently widowed father Ken in his family home in Forres in Moray.^[2]

Cast

• Gregor Fisher as Ken Pritchard
• Greg McHugh as Richard Pritchard
• Amy Lennox as Emily, Ken's neighbour and Richard's schoolfriend
• Clare Barrett as Jen
• Robin Laing as Ian
• Paul Rattray as Digsy, Richard's schoolfriend
• Stuart Bowman as Rod, Ken's next-door neighbour
• Forbes Masson as Crawford
• Jennifer Saunders as Sally (voice), Richard's inept agent
• Belinda Owusu as Dr Roach, Ken’s Doctor

Production

The six-part series is a Happy Tramp North production. It is written by Bryce Hart and directed by Al Campbell and Holly Walsh. The producer is Ursula Haworth and the executive producer is Neil Webster.^[3][4]

The cast is led by Gregor Fisher and Greg McHugh, which McHugh described working closely with Fisher as a "dream come true".^[5][6] McHugh also said the character of Richard is "the closest I have played to myself in terms of a character. I sometimes find him a bit annoying. Although, people might say that about me who know me."^[7] The cast includes Forbes Masson, Amy Lennox, Clare Barrett, Robin Laing, Paul Rattray and Jennifer Saunders in a voice role. Themes developed in the series include mortality, ageing, parent-child relationships and intergenerational differences.^[8]

The series began filming in Scotland in July 2024.^[9] Filming locations including Glasgow, Whitecraigs Railway Station and Barrhead.^[10]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Eh?"[11]	Al Campbell, Holly Walsh	Bryce Hart	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21)
2	2	"Raisins"[12]	Al Campbell	Bryce Hart	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21)
3	3	"Team Pritchard"[13]	Al Campbell	Bryce Hart	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21)
4	4	"The Thespian"[14]	Al Campbell	Bryce Hart	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21)
5	5	"Who's Brian?"[15]	Al Campbell	Bryce Hart	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21)
6	6	"The Long Goodbye"[16]	Al Campbell	Bryce Hart	21 November 2024 (2024-11-21)

Broadcast

It premiered on BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer on 21 November 2024 and on BBC One 22 November 2024.^[17]

Reception

Alison Rowat in The Herald praised the humour in the series and said "the best thing about Only Child, however, is the casting… Individually, Fisher and McHugh are class acts. Together, they are a dream ticket. It’s as if they’ve been together for years."^[18] Rachel Aroesti in The Guardian also praised the humour saying "I laughed out loud five times during the first three minutes.. Bryce Hart’s script is meticulously dense with gags, delivered with exemplary timing by its two leads. In other words, it’s pretty funny".^[19]