Outnumbered - Episode Guide

Partly-improvised sitcom looking at the trials and tribulations of bringing up three young children - a regal five-year-old girl with a talent for interrogation, a seven-year-old boy who could fib for Britain and an 11-year-old who is gearing up for his scary first day at secondary school.

Dad has strayed into a job-threatening controversy at school, Mum is starting a turf war with her sister and young Ben is further developing his extraordinary talent for lying.

Stuck in a traffic jam, Mum tries to keep the peace in a car containing three fractious kids, a new-age aunt 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 events climax in the living hell that is a gift shop.

Dad faces a barrage of questions when seven-year old Ben takes his talent for lying to a whole new level. Mum makes plans for a romantic night in.

Ben's got a mystery illness and claims to be far too ill to go to school. Auntie Angela's boyfriend dumps her, so the family rally round to cheer her up in the best way they know how. Dad worries that he could be out of a job when his little problem at the school becomes public knowledge, but is Mum's job any safer?

Five-year-old Karen decides to leave home for Spain, or possibly Greenland. Mum and Dad prepare for a dinner party, which leads to Ben being allowed to crack some eggs and getting his first taste of gin. The drink loosens tongues all round, and the dinner party becomes a disaster zone, but this time the parents can't blame any of it on the kids.

A wedding gives the children a chance to dress up, interrogate the bride, test the vicar's faith in God and dip unsuitable things in the chocolate fountain.

Ben tries to get elected as his class rep. Karen attempts to fathom who puts the 'beeps' into the mouths of TV chefs, and Dad is troubled by mortality.

The Brockmans attempt to revive 1950s values by banning TV and computers for one whole Sunday, freeing up lots of time for explaining the facts of life.

Mum and Dad must try to endure the hell of being trapped in a foreign airport with young children. And as the delays multiply, a game of I Spy takes an unexpected turn.

A Croatian baby-sitter has a night to remember when Mum and Dad manage to escape for a meal together. Meanwhile, Ben gets thrown out of his sister's pretend restaurant.

Chaos reigns in the Brockman household as six-year-old Karen denounces Satan, Ben gets on the wrong side of a no-nonsense referee, and Grandad's fate hangs in the balance.

A thunderstorm brings chaos to the Brockman family. Ben wants to go out and dodge the lightning, while Karen writes to the prime minister, asking him to fire her teacher.

It is Boxing Day in the Brockman household and Santa has paid a visit, along with some burglars. Seven-year-old Karen is obsessing over a missing hamster, nine-year-old Ben is causing havoc with a mechanical hand, Jake and Mum are trying to find Grandad, and Dad is preparing for dinner guests - some welcome, some not.

The award-winning comedy returns, as Gran takes the Brockman family for a day's sightseeing in London. Karen is unimpressed with modern art, Jake suffers serious trauma when he is unable to text, and one of the family uses a visit to HMS Belfast for a brief re-enactment of the Second World War.

When Mum finds an inappropriate image on the family computer, an investigation begins. Gran is still staying, and Dad is horrified at the thought of having a heart-to-heart with her. Meanwhile, the ancient game of chess will never be quite the same again after Ben brings his own special talents to it.

Karen recreates Britain's Got Talent, Ben takes a close interest in Dad's medical tests and Mum thinks Jake's healthy interest in girls is becoming unhealthy. Meanwhile, the ghost of John McEnroe hovers over Dad's Saturday morning game of tennis. Karen decides to sort things out.

Dad struggles against a rising tide of superstition, astrology and conspiracy theories that seem to be taking over the family, while Ben takes time off from re-enacting the crusades to show a couple of prospective buyers around the house.

The last time Mum's sister, Auntie Angela, came to visit, it ended in disaster. Now she is back, to show off the American therapist she has married, and Dad is determined to avoid a major incident as they all go out to dinner. Ben tells everyone about his sex education class, and Karen puts Auntie Angela's husband straight on therapy, but then there is a bigger problem between Mum and Dad.

Mum and Dad struggle to put things right between them, but Karen is unimpressed by their behaviour. She is worried by her vital role in the school concert, while Ben is busy recreating the assault on Everest on the stairs. But then there is a major panic about one of the children.

The Brockman family have some tough decisions to make about work, video games, and who to take to a family funeral. They leave the vicar wishing none of them had gone.

Mum has had enough of the boys' attitudes to housework so sets out on a campaign to civilise them. Karen battles with chuggers and buying shoes, while Dad goes to war with a domestic appliance.

Karen is on a sleepover, and Ben is away at adventure camp. Mum and Dad are left with a labrador to look after, and get a glimpse of what life will be like once the children have left home.

There is a lot to discuss at Ben's parents' evening, including muggers, dangerous chemicals and re-enactments of the Great Plague. Mum still suspects that Jake is hiding something, and Karen decides which of the world's great religions to lead.

Mum is still convinced Jake has a secret, while Ben is determined to enter a school talent competition with an unusual double act. Then a couple of surprise callers make life more difficult than usual for the family.

As the family tries to get rid of Auntie Angela, another guest comes to stay. Meanwhile, Mum has to decide what to do about Jake's girlfriend, and Ben and Karen discuss dreams, the mafia and trampolining bears.

The family want to go away for Christmas, but can they go with Grandad in hospital? And should they go when Jane is their house-sitter? And was it really wise to give Ben a metal detector as a present?

The Brockman family have decided to foster a sense of community by throwing a Christmas party for their neighbours. However, as expected, festivities do not go as smoothly as planned. They are visited by some colourful guests, including, among others, an opinionated neighbour, a traumatised ex-weatherman and that most unwelcome of guests, a seasonal gastric virus.

Karen is having trouble adapting to big school, Ben is auditioning for a part in the school musical even though he has a voice like a walrus, and Jake has made a foolish - and possibly permanent - fashion choice. Meanwhile, Mum and Dad try very hard not to interfere or send disastrously explosive emails.

Karen indulges her competitive instincts, Ben delves into the mysteries of human psychology and Jake appoints himself as a parenting expert. Meanwhile, Mum falls victim to a dysfunctional printer and Dad is hounded by a vigilant Daily Mail reader.

The arrival of Dad's god-daughter from Australia has an unfortunate effect on the Brockman household.

Dad and Ben go on a winter camping trip, where Ben shows off his survival skills. Jake has to decide about a gap year, and Mum has had enough of Australian god-daughter Stacey staying.

There are more crossed lines, missed deadlines and communication nightmares as Mum and Dad try to find out where their children are. Jake is trying to get home with no money or means of transport, Ben is meeting lots of interesting strangers, and Karen is having a life-changing conversation with her headmistress.

Grandad is ill, which brings Auntie Angela and her new friend over from America. Ben has a crisis of confidence over his starring role in Spartacus the Musical and Karen still hopes her escaped hamster will be found.

It is Boxing Day, and the Brockman family have to carry out a special mission for Grandad. They encounter car problems, child problems, parent problems, emotional problems and World War Two. If the adults can't sort things out, the children will have to. Like all families, everything has changed and everything remains the same.