I am 15 and have been watching this show since it began, nearly five years ago. Since then, almost every thirty-minute episode has been of consistently high quality - now in it's eighth series, the show has lost none of the hilarity it started out with. The show is very amusing; it caters for all levels. The acting here is absolutely superb from everyone involved. I can honestly say that, as far as I know, this is one of the only shows on TV with child actors who can act. Not only that, but they are all very good actors. The loss of Barbara Durkin in 2001 led to a lot of people thinking: "Well, that's it." She cut a highly amusing figure as Sophie, the mother. The casting of the very different Carla Mendonca was, however, masterful, and I commend whoever thought of it. There is not a single weak performer in the show, the writing has sustained unbelievably high quality - although some of the humour can get rather crude at times - and there is little to criticise. The only thing I would advice they dropped in the next series is the canned laughter, which removes the sophistication of the all-round masterful show.