Marco's response to Neil saying 'Have you seen The Sun?' is 'Nah mate, don't read that shite' is a reference to the British tabloid The Sun. It is still boycotted on Merseyside over its coverage of The Hillsborough Disaster in 1989.
The house where Vernon's mum and grandma live is on Ivanhoe Road, Lark Lane, Liverpool. It also features in the Doctor Who episode 'The Halloween Apocalypse'. The street is also used in the final episode of 'Foyle's War'.
This episode contains no less than five actors who appeared in the Liverpool soap Brookside: Sue Johnston, Sue Jenkins, Louis Emerick and Victor McGuire,