Granada's hope had been for a response to the BBC's successful Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979-82), and producer Sandy Ross initially approached Rik Mayall to star. After persuading Granada to hire Ben Elton to write, Mayall pulled out, leaving Granada with Elton, Fry, Laurie, Thompson, Redmond and Paul Shearer. With this team, Granada produced this short series There's Nothing to Worry About (1982), which aired only in the North West