Here We Go stars tease "brilliant" and "sketchy" Robert Glenister role in season 3
Rachel and Robin's childhood is dredged up in a reunion with their father.
BBC sitcom Here We Go has added Robert Glenister to its season 3 guest cast, with co-star Katherine Parkinson teasing his "feckless" role and how it relates to the wider Jessop family.
One of the upcoming episodes will see (most of) the Jessops on a holiday to Malta, which doubles as an opportunity for Rachel (Parkinson) and Robin (Tom Basden) to reconnect with their estranged father, Michael (Glenister).
Basden, who is also the show's writer and creator, told RadioTimes.com and other press that Michael is "a really sketchy guy", before praising "brilliant comic actor" Glenister for bringing the character to life.
It appears that Rachel and Robin have a less-than-ideal relationship with their father, but the former becomes convinced she can help heal their rift after undergoing training for family counselling.
"She wants more from him," said Parkinson of her character. "All of her stories are about him letting down Robin in the cold, waiting to be picked up from football, and not turning up and so on.
"Really, he was just kind of absent, so I think her problems with him aren't unfounded."
Parkinson teased that the fraught relationship would "progress" in the right direction, but praised Basden for writing that is "never sentimental" and dodges easy or cliché solutions to complex familial issues.
"You don't have this moment where he goes 'I love you so much' or whatever," she elaborated. "It's done so much more truthfully and I think it's more moving for it."
The actor, who was BAFTA-nominated this year for Rivals, added that Glenister is "perfectly cast" as the "slightly dangerous, very feckless" Michael, and that she fully believed in him as Rachel's father.
In addition to fleshing out the backstory for Rachel and Robin, Here We Go's Malta episode also satisfies Basden's "long-standing ambition" to do a "proper holiday abroad" on the show, with the cast and crew actually flying out to shoot on location.
One exception was Alison Steadman, who does not feature in the Malta scenes, as it was decided that Rachel's mother-in-law Sue wouldn't have a sufficient narrative justification to be involved in the reunion with her biological father.
Instead, Sue is said to be enjoying a binge-watch marathon of ITV's Poirot at home.
Here We Go returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Friday 25th July 2025.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
