 Social historian David Kynaston has opined that "the Gambols [inhabit] a frozen-in-time world closely mirroring the Applebys' own in Kingston-upon-Thames Surrey in the early 1950s".The two central characters are George and Gaye Gambol, a happily married, suburban, middle class couple.George is the main breadwinner working as a salesman while Gaye is primarily a housewife, but she does occasionally take on part-time office jobs.