The sitcom was created and written by Susan Nickson and set in her hometown of Runcorn, Cheshire, originally focusing on the lives of five twentysomethings.

The show's title was inspired by the 1980 punk rock song 'Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please' by the band Splodgenessabounds.

Ralf Little departed the show after the sixth series, with his character Jonny killed off-screen during the first episode of the seventh series.

Sheridan Smith and Kathryn Drysdale left the show after the eighth series and were written out at the start of series 9, with their departures mentioned in the first episode of that series.

The eighth series was filmed at BBC Television Centre with recording dates announced for 1 February to 3 April, following confirmation of the series by Will Mellor in a April 2008 Metro interview.

The outcome of the series 8 finale was decided by public vote, asking viewers whether Gaz should end up with Donna or Janet; Donna won with 76.9% of the vote.

Two special episodes were filmed in 2009: the first was a musical episode set entirely inside the Archer pub featuring only Janet, Wesley and Tim, recorded on 13 August 2009 and broadcast on 15 December 2009; the second, 'Sliding Gaz', recorded on 18 August 2009, used a 'sliding doors' technique to show alternate outcomes for Gaz and was broadcast on 22 December 2009.

In April 2010 it was revealed the show would return in a 'refreshed' form after creator Susan Nickson departed, leading to major cast and writing changes for the ninth and final series.