Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps is a British television sitcom that ran from 26 February 2001 to 24 May 2011.^[1] First broadcast on BBC Two, it starred Sheridan Smith, Will Mellor, Natalie Casey, Ralf Little, Kathryn Drysdale, Beverley Callard and, later on in series 7, Luke Gell. The show was created and written by Susan Nickson and set in her hometown of Runcorn, Cheshire, it originally revolved around the lives of five twentysomethings. Little departed after the sixth series, and Smith and Drysdale left after the eighth series. The ninth and final series had major changes with new main cast members and new writers.

The core cast was augmented by various recurring characters throughout the series, portrayed by Beverley Callard, Lee Oakes, Hayley Bishop, Thomas Nelstrop, Freddie Hogan and Georgia Henshaw. The title was inspired by the 1980 song "Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please" by punk rock band Splodgenessabounds.^[2] On 23 July 2011, it was confirmed that the series would not return due to the BBC making room for new comedies and feeling that the series had come to a natural end after the departures of most of the main cast members.^[3]

BBC Two announced the first series as one of the highlights of their Autumn 2000 schedule, although the premiere was eventually held back to 2001.^[4] The first six series with the original cast including Ralf Little ran until 2006, with Jonny killed off-screen during the first episode of the seventh series.

An eighth series was confirmed by Mellor in an interview in the Metro on 21 April 2008, in which he said that they would be filming the series from November 2008 to January 2009.^[5] In January 2009, the BBC announced recording dates for the next series at BBC Television Centre from 1 February to 3 April. Natalie Casey, Kathryn Drysdale, Luke Gell, Will Mellor and Sheridan Smith all returned and the new character of Wesley was played by Thomas Nelstrop.^[6]

The outcome of the final episode of series 8 was decided by the public, who were asked to vote on whether Gaz should be with Donna or Janet. Following the finale of series 8, which was broadcast on 10 May 2009,^[7] the audience chose Donna with 76.9% of the vote. The final episode concluded with Donna at Gaz's bedside.

Two special episodes of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps were filmed in 2009.^[8] The first was set a few minutes after the ending of the previous episode, its cast being limited to Janet, Wesley and Tim, and was recorded on 13 August 2009 at BBC TV Centre. It was a musical extravaganza set entirely inside the Archer and was broadcast on 15 December 2009. The second, "Sliding Gaz", was recorded on 18 August 2009 and shown on 22 December 2009.^[9] The cast consists of Donna and Gaz only and shows Donna in a "sliding doors" technique, imagining Gaz being healthy and also paralysed.

In April 2010, it was revealed that the show was to return, albeit 'refreshed' by the BBC, after the departure of the creator of the show, Susan Nickson.^[10] Original cast members Sheridan Smith and Kathryn Drysdale were written out of the series after deciding not to return for series 9, and their departures were mentioned in the first episode of series 9. On 25 July 2011 the BBC decided that the show would not return for a tenth series.^[11]