Martin is the king of DIY, a busybody know-it-all who runs (or tries to run) the community. His uptight personality drives some folks up the wall, but let's face it, if it weren't people like him nothing would get done. He's a great organiser--the Residents' Association, the boys' football team, the Rotary Club--whatever he can get involved with. If there's a lamp post on the blink, he's the one who phones the Council. He has a rather boring job in middle management and real life starts on Friday night when he gets home to his committees. Fundamentally he's a very good man. He's also a pompous bore.The local residents tend to regard Martin as a bit of a joke, although he does have a hard core of faithful followers, like Howard and Hilda, who generally give their full support to Martin's many schemes. And his wife, Ann, is a patient and loving ally, although she is at times driven to despair by her husband's inability to relax and by his unawareness of her needs and expectations. Ann receives more attention from their new neighbor, Paul, than she gets from Martin--although Martin doesn't have time to notice such things. What he does notice, however, is the way Paul likes to ridicule him. And to a man who takes himself as seriously as Martin does, this is the ultimate insult. Written by the team responsible for Richard Briers' smash hit comedy The Good Life, Ever Decreasing Circles presented Briers with another successful long running sitcom.