This is a list of characters for the British sitcom The Green Green Grass that has aired on BBC One since 9 September 2005.
The Green Green Grass centres on the fictional Boyce family and their employees, who live or work on Winterdown Farm in Shropshire. The household is led by Boycie and Marlene, as played by John Challis and Sue Holderness. They have one child, Tyler, as played by Jack Doolan. They employ four members of staff, Elgin, Bryan, Jed and Imelda Cakeworthy, as played by David Ross, Ivan Kaye, Peter Heppelthwaite and Ella Kenion.
Other regulars in the series include Beth as played by Lisa Diveney, Llewellyn as played by Alan David, Ray as played by Nigel Harrison and Sara as played by Samantha Sutherland. Dora as played by June Whitfield and The Driscoll Brothers as played by Roy Marsden and Christopher Ryan have all made three appearances in The Green Green Grass.
Principal cast durations
Winterdown Farm: residents and staff
Boycie
Herman Terrence Aubrey Boyce (John Challis) – An untrustworthy ex-used car salesman and elitist with a mocking laugh who likes to think of himself as above everyone else. Boycie made sporadic appearances in Only Fools and Horses before becoming a regular cast member from the fifth series onwards. He remains the same in The Green Green Grass.
For The Green Green Grass, the character of Boycie had to be made more sympathetic. He was also seen in a match of one-upmanship against Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses. Boycie had a major part in the second episode of the final trilogy of Only Fools and Horses; this allowed the character to expand on screen before taking the lead role in the spin-off series.
Marlene
Marlene (Sue Holderness) – Marlene was initially an unseen character in Only Fools and Horses, occasionally mentioned by her husband Boycie. However, her first appearance saw that she was a bubbly, slightly promiscuous woman whose passionate, and seemingly unattainable, desire to have a child provided one of the Only Fools and Horses sub-plots. She later matured and became a frequently seen character, as did Boycie. In total, she appeared in around twenty episodes, slightly fewer than the character of Boycie.
In The Green Green Grass she is exactly the same in all senses. Unlike Boycie, Marlene settles into her new surroundings with little problems and without changing herself. She also appears to enjoy country life as the series progresses. In the series two episode "Mother Earth", Marlene gives away all her clothes, as they were not environmentally friendly. Marlene also has an intense dislike of the Driscoll Brothers, as seen in both "Brothers and Sisters" and "Home Brew".
She loves her dog, Earl. Duke has obviously died since his last appearance in Only Fools and Horses; however, this hasn't been revealed within The Green Green Grass. She is also extremely proud of her son Tyler, even when he does something silly or awkward.
Tyler
Tyler (Jack Doolan) – The character of Tyler made several appearances in Only Fools and Horses, although he was portrayed by different actors. His similarity in looks to Del Boy has led to a continuation of a running joke. It has been speculated in both Only Fools and Horses and The Green Green Grass that Tyler might be the outcome of an affair between Marlene and Del.
Tyler has a girlfriend called Beth from the episode "Pillow Talk" to "The Special Relationship". He has a new girlfriend from the fourth series called Sara. She first appears in the episode "Calendar Boys". Tyler has no on-screen friends in the country. Tyler has appeared in nearly every episode of the series, except "Lust in Translation" and "I Done It My Way".
Elgin Sparrowhawk
Elgin (David Ross) – Elgin Sparrowhawk is the farm manager of Winterdown Farm. He is a creepy man, who is often able to ensure that his workload remains light, suggesting he is not quite as ignorant as he appears. He always carries his briefcase with a string shoulder strap around with him, to help remind people that he is still farm manager, even though it looks empty on occasions.
Elgin is married to his unseen wife, who apparently has a glass eye. He has said on occasions that she doesn't really like him, and at one point he started to have his mail redirected to Boycie's house just to ensure that she doesn't find out that he's still living there. He has shown deep affection towards his wife on many occasions, although he obviously lusts for Marlene.