Dinnerladies has many running jokes or themes through the series'. This is where the same thing is repeated in many episodes to make it familiar to viewers. Here are some examples...
Bren's mixed-up words: Bren often tries to think of a word and says it's like something else when it is only very very loosely connected.
"We've got a bit of a...oh what's that word? Not unicorn. Dilema!"
"What are them things like cucumbers? Suffragettes!"
"Hey, maybe Twink could do that thing. What's is called? Sounds like a place in North Yorkshire. Surrogate!"
"Don't think you have to stick with me in Marbella or anything, you know, just cos I haven't been abroad before. Cos I don't expect you to so don't feel, oh God, what't the word? Not neglected...obligated!"
"He's what's that word? Not toadstools. Disenchanted!"
Norman's Agrophobia: Norman tells everyone he is agrophobic everytime he comes into the canteen. He says he's got it because he fell of a diving board in Guernsey. He doesn't like stairs or even standing on coconut matting because of it and says it gives him panic attacks.
Dolly and Jean: Although they are best friends, Dolly likes to point out the size of Jean's hips or the fact that she looks old in any situation she can.
"I don't mind what I wear. I think when you're slim you can carry off a number of styles. I think we should ask somebody with bigger hips. Jean?"
"I'm not being a wench. I'm too gnatty for a wench. You need more of a lived in look....like Jean."
Jean - "There's nothing wrong with my hips. It's only been three years since I won a Rhumba competition." Dolly - "Yes, on a caravan site."
Jean - "It's a load of codswash dieting. All that misery for what? You could fall under a bus tomorrow." Dolly - "I could. You couldn't fit under a bus, it'd have to be jacked up."
Jean - "I have the same bust measurement as Gina Lollobrigida." Dolly - "And the same hip measurement as Patrick Moore!"
Tony - "Shame Jean, I could see you in a PVC catsuit." Dolly - "It would have to come from a big cat!"
"Oh she's not bad...for a big-bottomed nymphomaniac!"
But Jean can also give back as good as she gets.
Dolly - "Ocean Princess. Luxury cruise liner." Jean - "Luxury my do-dah! It's a converted World War Two aircraft carrier!"
Dolly - "Well I'm used to this. I've met the Duchess of Devonshire." Jean - "Met her? You cornered her! If you have stood any nearer you would have fell in her handbag!"
Dolly and the Daily Mail: Dolly likes to read the Daily Mail and tell everyone things that must be true because they were written about in there.
"It was in the Daily Mail. Women can't fold maps and men can't get interested in head boards."
"They've been linked with teenage alcoholism, Wine Gums. It was in the Daily Mail."
Jean - "How do you know Sophia Loren eats a lot of tomatoes? Have you been through her bins?" Dolly - "It was in the Daily Mail."
"They are small. Once people are on heroin, square meals fly out of the window. It was in the Daily Mail."
It comes back to haunt her in the end though. She has been telling everyone for years she wants to retire to Mobberly, an upper class village. Then, in the last episode, it's in the Daily Mail that the rubber and bondage scene in Mobberly is on the increase!
Stan's Dad: Whenever Stan is provoked about something, he often responds with "My dad was a Desert Rat" and then goes on to name a task his dad did with something obscure.
"My dad was a Desert Rat. His life was saved by a mess tin. He had it over his face licking a bit of mince."
"My dad was a Desert Rat. He shaved in sand. That toaster stays put!"
"My dad was a Desert Rat, he saved a man's life with a tablespoon."
"My dad was a Desert Rat. He washed the tin plates of thirty-two fighting men in a hub cap."
"My dad was a Desert Rat. He made toast for thirty-two fighting men with a radiator grill and a flame thrower."
Tony and Twinkle: These two like to wind each other up. Tony normally says something sarcastic to Twinkle and She usually responds with "Ha, ha..." and adds something sarcastic in return.
"Ha ha, three weeks late."
"Ha ha, Benny Hill."
"Oh ha ha, straight to video!"
"Oh ha ha, Jeremy somebody!"
"Ha ha, League Of Gentleman!"
Petula: Petula is always telling everyone stories about celebrities like she knows them.
"You could probably scrape the mash off the top and make potato cakes. I used to fry those up for Lauren Bacall years ago."
"I don't know Lenny. Gwynnie's my pal."
Philippa - "I do the Jane Fonda Low Impact." Petula - "Boy did I have trouble teaching her that one!"
"That's what drove Henry Kissenger mad. I was too larky for him."
"John Lennon had that emulsion."
"Mmm, might have a bit of sex. But I have to say, after Richard E Grant you don't really feel like bothering with a load of shagged out pensioners."