Miles is an anagram of slime, which the dictionary defines as 'an unpleasant slippery substance'. Very apt, some might say. Others would disagree - demonstrating that the jury is still out on the case of Miles. Is he a posh, sexist, homophobic bigot with a bad fringe - or an immensely loyal friend with a heart of gold underneath the laddish (and rather luscious) exterior?

Both, actually. Miles is This Life's official bastard and, as with most of the species, his sensitive side is magnificently camouflaged, lurking in the undergrowth beneath the towering ambition and appalling arrogance: fighting against the rising tide of slime.

But Miles has his redeeming moments. On more than one occasion he covers at work for Anna - and all he gets in return is a sarcastic 'I'll call the Vatican and have you canonised.' He's also Egg's best friend and tries his (exceptionally clumsy) best to help him in his difficulties with Milly. And Miles even steels himself to apologise to Ferdy (whom he can't stand) for supposedly ruining his relationship with Lenny. The last laugh there is on Miles: cringing with embarrassment, he is manoeuvred into admitting that public schoolboys 'get confused' about their sexuality. Though he didn't, he adds quickly - and too late. Miles has managed to cast off his public school background, and he loathes - and has avoided - the old-boy network epitomised by his father. He wants to make his own way in life: a laudable ambition but one that carries an inherent problem. Miles is self-centred, blinkered, bolshie and bombastic. His 'way of doing things' tends to upset every apple-cart in the vicinity. Worse, he is a hopeless judge of character - especially when it comes to women. He rushes in where angels wouldn't be seen dead - often with appalling results. Remember Delilah?

Introspection is not one of his greatest gifts, but it does gradually dawn on him that there is one woman who somehow managed to slip under his skin - Anna. Yet because Miles is Miles, he doesn't declare his true feelings to her until it's far too late. And the fact that Anna is an 'honorary bloke' is something he finds slightly threatening. Would admitting to loving her make him an 'honorary homosexual'? Miles is distinctly uneasy with the issue of homosexuality: he insults Warren and is convinced Ferdy's sole reason for existing is to peek at his willy. We're pretty sure Miles isn't remotely gay - but we also reckon 'something happened' in the dorm after lights out all those years agoŸ

One supposed prerequisite for being a good barrister is to have an ego the size of a small house. Miles appears to possess a large mansion. He's something of the golden boy at work - and even when credit isn't due he takes it anyway. The only possible blight on his ascendant career is the arrival of Anna. As at home, she's a bit of a threat at work, so Miles commits the Most Despicable Non-Sexual Act of the Series and votes against her tenancy. Unforgivable. Yet Anna forgives him in the end: it's that fatal attraction thingy. And she doesn't even boil his bunny.

Like most of his friends, Miles believes in healthy living. Tinned curries and Indian take-aways are his speciality, along with endless beers and dope sessions with Egg. He does, however, make repeated attempts to quit smoking - but his fag habit is like his Anna habit. It always gets the better of him.

Even the thrillingly beautiful Francesca can't quite extinguish the Anna flame in his heart - but she does manage to light (albeit briefly) a cultural candle in his breast. In the early days of his relationship with her, he acquires art books, leaves them lying around the house, and utters such unlikely statements as 'Matisse thought his paintings emitted helium radiation'. Very un-Miles. Very fleeting. And Francesca still agrees to marry him. Must be those smouldering eyes and that chiselled bone structure.