"It's a Long Long Time from May to December" Quiz

Answer: Her husband was having an affair

...and by going to a solicitor she met Alec and after a few initial problems they decided to throw caution to the wind with regard to the difference in their ages and get together.

Answer: The local vicar

When Simone first met Zoe she thought she was with her brother, and was shocked when she found out that she was actually her father's partner. The two women soon learned to get on, even though Simone had a few difficulties with her husband's more traditional congregation members.

Answer: A greengrocer and florist

We don't see much of Zoe's father, but the episode in series 2 when Mum and Dad meet Alec ('I Remember It Well') is one worth watching. Poor Zoe was left out in the cold as her parents reminisced with Alec over life in their younger years, talking of her as a small child as he speaks of his own children.

After the meeting, her mother said that the relationship will not work, for although they got on well, he was of a different generation to her daughter.

Answer: Jamie

Jamie spent some time living with Alec and Zoe, but for the most part he lived alone. He was his father's partner in the law firm, and they had two secretaries, the sturdy Miss Flood (later Mrs Tipple) and the ditsy Hilary (replaced by Rosie in series 6).

Answer: Gym mistress

Alec would talk about her gym slip, playing the 'dirty old man' as a joke! We often saw Zoe at the school, teaching or leaving at the end of the day and being given a lift by Jamie or Alec.

Answer: He bought her a dog

The dog was called Arnold and was adorable; it took a little while but both Zoe and Alec came to terms with their loss. In the very next series Zoe gave birth to their daughter Fleur.

Answer: Catch the bouquet

Dear, wonderful, ditsy Hilary! She was determined to marry her Derek and believed that catching the bouquet would do the trick. She was not in the final series of 'May to December', having finally reached her goal. One can only hope that it worked out for them.

Answer: Hearing his father talk to students on Careers Day

Zoe had returned to school and persuaded Alec to speak to the teenagers even though he did not want to. She then got Jamie to the school and he heard what his father had to say about the good things, and the bad things, about law as a career. He came away knowing that the law was a good place for him to be.

Answer: He was making a present for Simone's husband

It was a new lectern for the church, a present from Simone to her vicar husband. Alec did not know about this and was suspicious of the carpenter's coming and going, especially as he was young, handsome and interested in his wife.

Answer: Alec was in his mid-50s and Zoe was 27

Zoe was the 'May' and Alec was the 'December' of the programme title. It is strange, though, that the viewing public accepted six seasons (38 episodes) of this comedy (1989-1994), but only one season (6 episodes) of 'Sweet Sixteen' (1983) which starred the much-loved Penelope Keith who fell in love with a man sixteen years her junior.