Our Friends in the North (1996– )

A nine part series depicting the varying fortunes of four friends - Nicky, Geordie, Mary and Tosker - from the optimistic times of 1964 to the uncertainties of 1995. Taking nine pivotal ... See full summary »

Stars:

Christopher Eccleston, Mark Strong, Gina McKee

9 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Christopher Eccleston	...	Nicky Hutchinson (9 episodes, 1996)
Mark Strong	...	Tosker Cox (9 episodes, 1996)
Gina McKee	...	Mary Cox (9 episodes, 1996)
Daniel Craig	...	Geordie Peacock (8 episodes, 1996)
Peter Vaughan	...	Felix Hutchinson (8 episodes, 1996)
David Bradley	...	Eddie Wells (8 episodes, 1996)
Freda Dowie	...	Florrie Hutchinson (7 episodes, 1996)
Alun Armstrong	...	Austin Donohue (5 episodes, 1996)
Malcolm McDowell	...	Benny Barrett (5 episodes, 1996)
Danny Webb	...	Detective Inspector Ron Conrad (4 episodes, 1996)
David Schofield	...	DCI John Salway (4 episodes, 1996)
Geoffrey Hutchings	...	John Edwards (4 episodes, 1996)
Donald Sumpter	...	Commander Harold Chapple (4 episodes, 1996)
Frank Couchman	...	Patrick Soulsby (4 episodes, 1996)
Daniel Casey	...	Anthony Cox (3 episodes, 1996)
Rod Culbertson	...	Bede Connor (3 episodes, 1996)
Tony Haygarth	...	Roy Johnson (3 episodes, 1996)
Tracey Wilkinson	...	Elaine Cox (3 episodes, 1996)
Peter Jeffrey	...	Commisioner Colin Blamire (3 episodes, 1996)
John Dair	...	Charlie Dawson (3 episodes, 1996)
Mark Drewry	...	Michael Frisch (3 episodes, 1996)
Louise Salter	...	Julia Allen (3 episodes, 1996)
Anne Orwin	...	Mrs Weightman (3 episodes, 1996)
Saskia Wickham	...	Claudia Seabrook (3 episodes, 1996)
Val McLane	...	Rita Cox (3 episodes, 1996)
Tony Hodge	...	Brian Cox (3 episodes, 1996)
Julian Fellowes	...	Claud Seabrook (3 episodes, 1996)
David Begg	...	Billy Shaughnessy (2 episodes, 1996)
Terence Rigby	...	Berger (2 episodes, 1996)
Trevor Fox	...	Harry (2 episodes, 1996)
Harriet Keevil	...	Helen Windsor (2 episodes, 1996)
Craig Conway	...	Christopher Collins (2 episodes, 1996)
Granville Saxton	...	Commissioner Jellicoe (2 episodes, 1996)
Larry Lamb	...	Alan Roe (2 episodes, 1996)
Leon Lissek	...	Walensky (2 episodes, 1996)
Chris Walker	...	DCI Paul Boyd (2 episodes, 1996)
Andrew Grainger	...	Detective Constable Fred Black (2 episodes, 1996)
Gavin Muir	...	Father Kyle (2 episodes, 1996)
Siobhan Burke	...	Lucille (2 episodes, 1996)
Pete Lee-Wilson	...	Colin Butler (2 episodes, 1996)
Elspeth Charlton	...	Mrs Soulsby (2 episodes, 1996)
Jack McBride	...	Mr Soulsby (2 episodes, 1996)
Harry Herring	...	Arthur Watson (2 episodes, 1996)
Sam Lathem	...	Bouncer (2 episodes, 1996)

Storyline

A nine part series depicting the varying fortunes of four friends - Nicky, Geordie, Mary and Tosker - from the optimistic times of 1964 to the uncertainties of 1995. Taking nine pivotal years (1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1987, 1995) the personal lives of the characters become intertwined with the political struggles of their home town of Newcastle, and the capital, London. We also see the machinations behind the scenes that affect their lives, often for the worse: slum housing projects, police corruption, the rise of Thatcherism, political sleaze, and specific events like the 1984 Miners' Strike.

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Plot Keywords:

newcastle | tv mini series | human relationship

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pohjoiset ystävämme

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

623 min 623 min (9 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The episode titles "1964", "1966", "1967", "1970", "1974", "1979", "1984", "1987" and "1995" were the years in which the action took place. Many of these (1964, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1979 and 1987) were years in which General Elections took place in the UK, against which the events of the episodes were set.

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Quotes

Nicky Hutchinson: [to the driver how dropped him off, first lines] Cheers mate
Nicky Hutchinson: [In narration] Our story began, one summer night in 1964, as I cam back to see me friends. I could see now, 31 years later, we were all going to make decisions that would change our lives forever.

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Connections

Features The Black and White Minstrel Show (1958)

User Reviews

One of the greatest TV Dramas

I felt compelled to comment after reading a disparaging comment, I too come from a 'North/South' family with a mix of working and middle class and in no way found this patronising or contrived.

Instead I found a drama that personalised Britain's modern history, which also gave me an anchor of historical facts while watching to really emerse myself in the stories.

I found the characters at times to be self important but this was clearly the intention- Eccleston's character Nicky was self-important and selfish with his views- these are character flaws. This was the brilliance of the length of the series as you become so intimately knowledgeable of the characters. The tragedy of Geordie and the on/off nature of Nicky and Mary's relationship. By the end you feel like you have lived their lives with them, something only achievable with a top notch cast and great script.

I would unreservedly recomend this to anyone, even outside of the UK, as it is quite simply brilliant drama.