Editing Ever Decreasing Circles (section)

==Critical response==
The show was voted number 52 in the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Britain's Best Sitcom]]'' poll in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcattic.org/sitcom/top11to100.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013153757/http://www.bbcattic.org/sitcom/top11to100.shtml|website=bbcattic.org|title=BRITAIN'S BEST SITCOM {{!}} TOP 11-100 SITCOMS|archive-date=13 October 2014}}</ref> At its peak, it attracted television audiences of around 12 million.<ref name=telegraph/>

Reappraising the series, Andy Dawson in ''[[Daily Mirror|the Daily Mirror]]'' notes that "''Ever Decreasing Circles'' strayed far from the well-worn path that other Britcoms trudged along in the 1970s and 1980s. There was a very real darkness at the heart of it, with Martin existing in what was almost certainly a state of permanent mental anguish."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/richard-briers-dead-good-life-1716574|work=Daily Mirror|title=''The Good Life'' was the show that made Richard Briers famous, but ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' was his finest hour|first=Andy|last=Dawson|date=18 February 2013|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

[[Ricky Gervais]] has cited the series as one of his key influences, and following Briers' death said he would waive the repeat fees on ''[[The Office (British TV series)|The Office]]'' if ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' was repeated on BBC One.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a460171/ricky-gervais-asks-bbc-to-repeat-richard-briers-sitcom-tribute-planned/|work=[[Digital Spy]]|title=Ricky Gervais asks BBC to repeat Richard Briers sitcom, tribute planned|first=Tom|last=Eames|date=20 February 2013|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> His TV series ''[[After Life (TV series)|After Life]]'' features both Penelope Wilton and Peter Egan as Anne and Paul but unrelated to this show.