Editing As Time Goes By (TV series) (section)

===Recurring===
*'''Penny''' ([[Moyra Fraser]])&nbsp;– Jean's condescending, self-absorbed sister-in-law from her first marriage.
*'''Stephen''' ([[Paul Chapman (actor)|Paul Chapman]])&nbsp;– Penny's entertainingly dull husband, who works as a dentist.
*'''Richard "Rocky" Hardcastle''' ([[Frank Middlemass]])&nbsp;– Lionel's irrepressible upper-class father who owns a country home in the [[Hampshire]] countryside. Vivacious and young at heart, Rocky is the opposite of his son.
*'''Madge Darbley''' ([[Joan Sims]])&nbsp;– Rocky’s equally high-spirited fiancée, who is seven years his junior. As Sims passed away in 2001, she does not appear past series 7.
*'''Harry''' ([[David Michaels (actor)|David Michaels]] and [[Daniel Ryan (actor)|Daniel Ryan]])&nbsp;– a rugby-obsessed policeman who starts dating Sandy.
*'''Mrs Bale''' ([[Janet Henfrey]])&nbsp;– Rocky’s eccentric, very precise housekeeper who is interested in the shipping forecast and Australian Rules Football.
*'''Lol Ferris''' ([[Tim Wylton]])&nbsp;– Rocky’s amiable, decidedly rural gardener. Lol has six brothers, all of whom become interested in Sandy.

A continuing plot arc in series 3 and 4 has Lionel writing ''Just Two People'', a mini-series for American television. Recurring characters introduced during this time include American producer '''Mike Barbosa''' (played by Richard Holmes, who was credited under the pseudonym Otto Jarman) and the secretaries '''Daisy''' (played by Justine Glenton and Zoe Hilson) and '''Mrs Gwen Flack''' ([[Vivienne Martin (actress)|Vivienne Martin]]).

In the March 2011 [[PBS]] [[pledge drive]] programming special ''Behind the Britcoms: from Script to Screen'' hosted by cast members [[Moira Brooker]] and [[Philip Bretherton]], the series creator/producer revealed that [[Jean Simmons]] had declined the first offer of the role of Jean (which was written with her in mind) due to her reluctance to uproot her life, specifically mentioning her dogs, garden, and family, in California.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}