An American pilot of the show was ordered by Fox in 2005, but Fox ultimately decided not to proceed with the series.

CBS later commissioned its own American adaptation titled 'Worst Week', written by Matt Tarses, which premiered on 22 September 2008 and was cancelled on 20 May 2009.

The series was adapted in Romania by Pro TV as 'O săptămână nebună' and 'Altă săptămână nebună', with a Christmas special called 'Un Crăciun nebun', in 2014.

A Greek adaptation titled 'Η χειρότερη εβδομάδα της ζωής μου' aired on Mega Channel in late 2015.

A two-episode French version of the show was produced in 2011 by director Frédéric Auburtin.

The first series averaged around 5 million viewers on BBC One and was both critically acclaimed and popular with audiences.

Reviewing the second series' opening episode in The Observer, critic Kathryn Flett wrote that it 'really made her giggle'.

The character Sophie Cook, played by Emma Pierson, and Dom, played by Dean Lennox Kelly, both disappeared from the second series without any explanation given on screen; Sophie's absence was later explained in the Christmas special as having moved to New Zealand.