She left the land of Marks & Spencer and went to the world of Marx and Lenin. Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution is a feelgood comedy following one dysfunctional family's journey from 1968 West Yorkshire to 19 below freezing East Germany and back again. Mr Ratcliffe fought for the cause, but his wife fought for their family: a teenage sex goddess, and a twelve year old communist spy. Will Mr Ratcliffe throw away his party card and fall in love with his brave new wife?

Emily Jackson lives a fast-paced life. Always on the go, able to talk around the clock, with a sensitive soul she loves playing matchmaker for her friends. It's Emily's gay roommate and frequent companion Peter, who becomes again the subject matchmaking skills when handsome new photographer assistant Paolo arrives at the Vogue offices, where Emily works. She makes it her mission to bring the two men together. Unfortunately for her, she is so busy arranging a love connection between Peter and Paolo that she remains completely blind to the one suitor who longs to provide her with the loving companionship that she so cheerfully arranges for others. And so it does make sense that Peter, a screenwriter in the making, starts telling the story from his own point of view.

In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching "University Challenge," a college quiz show. At Bristol he tries out for the Challenge team and falls under the spell of Alice, a lovely blond with an extensive sexual past. He's smitten, and he carelessly manages to hurt the feelings of Rebecca Epstein, a friend whose politics and wit he admires. The Challenge finale is coming up; maybe Brian can redeem himself and still avoid being a prat.

A boy's barmitzvah looks set to be a disaster when it coincides with the 1966 World Cup Final.