Outnumbered

Meet the kids: three small children - a regal five year old girl with a talent for interrogation, a seven year old boy who could out-fib Jeffrey Archer and an eleven year old who is gearing up for his scary first day at secondary school.

Mum and Dad continue their celebration of parental incompetence with the problems piling up. Their little girl is outwitting them in the endless negotiations about what she will condescend to eat, and Ben (7) is further developing his extraordinary talent for lying. In addition, Dad has strayed into a job-threatening controversy at school, while Mum is starting a turf war with her sister.

Parental struggles move to a traffic jam on the A3, as Mum tries to keep the peace in a car containing 3 fractious kids, a new-age Auntie and a bewildered Grandfather. Meanwhile, Dad is waiting outside the Headmaster’s office, after an ill-judged joke involving obesity and Ramadan. Tempers rise as the storylines climax in the living hell that is a gift shop.

Ben takes his talent for lying to a whole new level while Dad finds himself being quizzed about his SAS training. Meanwhile, Mum plans for a romantic night in if she can only get rid of Karen’s little friend and the friend’s mother. As their romantic evening recedes into the distance, Jake raises fears about his friend’s parents’ divorce and calls from his form teacher bring more alarming news.

Ben’s up to his tricks again - this time he’s got a mystery illness and is far too ill to go to school, or so he says. Auntie Angela’s been dumped by her boyfriend, so the family rally round to cheer her up in the best way they know how, sparking off a jolly discussion about Nazis and rat bags…

Preparations are in full swing for a dinner party and as the guests arrive, Ben gets his first taste of gin and Mum gets some unwelcome news from Angela. The drink loosens tongues. Things get said that can never be unsaid. The dinner party becomes a disaster zone - and this time the parents can’t blame any of it on the kids.