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The series is written by award-winning writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show) with Simon Blackwell of The Thick Of It fame.

Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong explained what the Old Guys are all about...

It is about all sorts of vitality and enjoyment of life after 60, and how 60 and 70 is no longer really old at all it seems for lots of people. The post-war baby-boomers are now hitting pensionable age. Today's pensioners' war-stories come from Grosvenor Square and the Isle of Wight rock festival rather than Normandy. So that's interesting to us.

How did you enjoy writing about this particular age group?

We enjoyed it hugely – it was one of our first reasons for creating the show. We thought selfishly as writers there was a pool of brilliant older performers we'd love to write for. And with Tom and Roy we've got two different perspectives. Tom is the baby-boomer who will not admit he is ageing – Roy is older, more comfortable with his age, has a pre-sixties sort of perspective, but is now keen after a separation and retirement to explore all the opportunities of life.

Are the characters of Roy and Tom based on anyone you know?

Not specifically. Although when we were developing the show we did see two older guys having a game of tennis in the park. One was in a sort of artist's smock and weird shorts and the other rather trim and we thought – what an interesting life. To have time, and a bit of money and enough physical well-being to be able to enjoy life and all these days to fill. What would you do? What could you do? As in Peep Show, we like writing for a pair of men who spend far too much time together. For some reason...

Do Roger, Clive, Jane and Katherine complement the characters you have created?

We're incredibly pleased to be working with them all. If actors were cars, it feels like the show has a garage full of Rolls-Royces.

Did you write with Clive and Roger in mind?

Not initially. But the development process has been pretty long so we we've moulded things to their voices, their interpretations of the characters. And we are carrying on doing that through rehearsal and shooting.

Simon Blackwell answers:

What is The Old Guys all about?

Fundamentally, it's about friendship. Two friends who live in the same house, sometimes get on, sometimes squabble, sometimes help each other out and sometimes stitch each other up. Tom and Roy aren't gay, but they're basically married to each other. They're as co-dependent as a married couple. They live in Roy's small terraced house – Roy is recently divorced from his wife Penny, who kept their lovely big house and lives in it with her new man, Des. There's a lot of time to fill, as they're both retired. Most of that time is spent obsessing about their beautiful neighbour Sally, whom they both love. Tom lives with Roy because he's skint and needs a place to stay; Roy needs companionship, and is impressed by all the stories Tom tells of his wild and bohemian life. Tom's grown-up daughter Amber is also on the scene. Tom was a hopeless father when she was little, and she'll never let him forget it. He still lets her down, and so she looks elsewhere for a father substitute: Roy, the church, her boss, acting classes, they're all temporary replacements for her Dad.

How did you enjoy writing about this particular age group?

I enjoyed it very much. It's a very rich area for jokes and situations and character stuff. And you've got a much larger collection of references – you can have jokes about Xbox 360s and jokes about GI brides, jokes about a Jack Hobbs cigarette card and watching The Inconvenient Truth on DVD. You've got long lifetimes of back-story to explore. You also have the advantage of working with older actors who know their way around comedy, and can do wonderful things with a line or a look.

Are the characters of Roy and Tom based on anyone you know?

There's an episode where Roy is accused of constantly needing a wee. And that's based on me. You can basically ignore your body in your twenties and thirties, it just gets on with things. Once you're past 40, it tends to tap you on the shoulder a lot.

Do Roger, Clive, Jane and Katherine complement the characters you have created?

Absolutely. The character of Amber existed before we cast Katherine, but we weren't getting the most out of the character. As soon as we saw Katherine doing it we knew immediately who Amber was, her relationship with her dad and Roy and what her attitude would be to a given situation. We also realised how brilliant Katherine is at physical comedy and wrote to that strength. Jane's character, Sally, came to life in the same way, after we saw what Jane could do with a line – how she could turn on a sixpence in terms of her response to something, and how she could make a rather dodgy and reactionary statement seem fine with a big innocent smile. And her timing is superb, she knows exactly how to hit a laugh, so you just want to give her more and more to do. With the boys, they're constantly introducing stuff that we incorporate into their characters, and the intricacies of the relationship between them. They just know their characters so well, and they work so superbly together. They know how to play off the rhythms of each other, and get extra laughs from that. It's a wonderful double act, Tom and Roy.

Did you write with Clive and Roger in mind?

Sam and Jesse wrote the original pilot, but when I came on board I knew I was writing for Clive and Roger, and that makes it much easier for you as a writer, if you can see and hear them in your head as you write.