Steel River Blues

Last updated

Steel River Blues
Genre Drama
Created byPatrick Harbinson
Directed byTim Dowd
Graeme Harper
Starring Daniel Ainsleigh
Satnam Bhogal
John Bowler
Clare Buckfield
Mark Cameron
Daniel Casey
Charles Dale
Joanne Farrell
Opening theme"Steel River Blues" by Chris Rea
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes7 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerKeith Richardson
ProducerKen Horn
CinematographyGeoff Healey
EditorTerry Warwick
Running time60—90 minutes
Production company Yorkshire Television
Original release
Network ITV
Release1 September (2004-09-01) 
13 October 2004 (2004-10-13)

Steel River Blues is a British television drama series, created by Patrick Harbinson, that was first broadcast in September 2004 on ITV. [1] Produced by Ken Horn, the series follows the working and private lives of a group of firefighters, known as Blue Watch, who are based in Middlesbrough. Critics were quick to dub the series "Middlesbrough's Burning" or "Teesside's Burning", after the popular fire-fighting drama that preceded it, London's Burning , yet there were very few similarities between the two, apart from them being about the business of firefighting. [2]

Contents

Like its predecessor, Steel River Blues was an ensemble drama without any single starring part, though perhaps the best-known actor was Daniel Casey, who was previously a co-star in Midsomer Murders . Other stars included Joanne Farrell, Stuart Graham, Daniel Ainsleigh and Satnam Bhogal. [3] The series title music was an original composition performed by Middlesbrough-born singer-songwriter Chris Rea. It was announced in January 2005 that the series would not be recommissioned due to low viewing figures. [4] Subsequently, the series has never been released on DVD.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [5]
1"Steel River"Tim DowdPatrick Harbinson1 September 2004 (2004-09-01)6.78
Extended episode. New station officer Bill McGlinchy arrives in Teesside and starts to make his mark on Middlesbrough Fire Station's Blue Watch. Control room operator Julie Priestley passes her firefighter training in the hope she can follow in her father's footsteps, but someone is standing in the way of her fulfilling her dream job.
2"Bloody Fridays"Tim Dowd Charlie Fletcher 8 September 2004 (2004-09-08)4.81
It's Friday night and it's a busy one for Blue Watch. Their first call is to some nuns trapped in a lift, but all is not as it seems. Julie gets more than she bargained for when she goes on the search for a stripper's missing python.
3"Family Fortunes" Graeme Harper Alan Whiting 15 September 2004 (2004-09-15)4.74
Jeremy brings his troubles to work after finding out his girlfriend has been having an affair. Blue Watch attend an industrial accident and have to think quickly in order to rescue a trapped worker. Unsettling discoveries cause personal and professional problems on the moors.
4"What Goes Around"Graeme HarperPatrick Harbinson22 September 2004 (2004-09-22)5.29
The crew are targeted by an act of vandalism, and tragedy strikes when George Barnes has a dramatic experience on his way to an emergency scene. Bill receives visitors from his past.
5"Blind Man's Buff"Graeme HarperAlan Whiting29 September 2004 (2004-09-29)N/A
New firefighter Nicky Higgins arrives to replace injured George, and makes quite an impression on her new colleagues. Tony tries to find out who is responsible for his brother's injury. Andy and Dave have personal crises that they must each deal with in their own unique ways.
6"Flashpoint"Tim DowdPatrick Melanaphy6 October 2004 (2004-10-06)4.77
As George struggles to come to terms with his injury, Blue Watch are called to a fire on a packed boat. Joanne faces hostility from Tony and decides to confront him. A harrowing experience at a steel works forces Sunill to face personal demons. But will it cost him his life?
7"The Long Drop"Tim DowdCharlie Fletcher13 October 2004 (2004-10-13)4.88
Bill & Tony call an uneasy truce. George receives bad news and takes drastic action. Will Tony and the rest of Blue Watch save the depressed George? Or will they be too late?

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Flynn</span> English actor and singer (born 1963)

Jerome Patrick Flynn is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the ITV series Soldier Soldier, Bronn in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, Bennet Drake in Ripper Street, and Banner Creighton in the Paramount+ western series 1923.

<i>Midsomer Murders</i> British television detective drama series

Midsomer Murders is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, and broadcasts the ITV Network since its premiere on 23 March 1997. The series focuses on various murder cases that take place within small country villages across the fictional English county of Midsomer, and the efforts of the senior police detective and his partner within the fictional Midsomer Constabulary to solve the crime by determining who the culprit is and the motive for their actions. It identifies itself differently from other detective dramas often by featuring a mixture of lighthearted whimsy and dark humour, as well as a notable soundtrack that includes the use of a theremin for the show's theme.

Mark Benton is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in Early Doors, Howard in Northern Lights and Martin Pond in Barbara. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road as mathematics teacher Daniel "Chalky" Chalk from 2011 to 2014. In 2013, Benton took part in Strictly Come Dancing, and in 2015 he hosted the daytime game show The Edge.

<i>Londons Burning</i> (TV series) British television drama series (1986–2002)

London's Burning is a British television drama programme, produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network. It was based on the 1986 TV movie of the same name, and focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch, at the fictional Blackwall fire station. It began with the movie (pilot), broadcast on 7 December 1986. This was then followed by a total of 14 series, which ran from 20 February 1988 to 25 August 2002.

Simon Rouse is an English actor, known for playing the role of Detective Chief Inspector, later Superintendent, Jack Meadows in the long-running ITV police drama The Bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Spall</span> English actor (born 1957)

Timothy Leonard Spall is an English actor and presenter. Spall gained recognition for his character actor roles on stage and screen. He is known for his collaborations with director Mike Leigh, acting in six of his films: Home Sweet Home (1982), Life is Sweet (1990), Secrets & Lies (1996), Topsy-Turvy (1999), All or Nothing (2002), and Mr. Turner (2014). He was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in Secrets and Lies, and received the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award for his portrayal of J. M. W. Turner in Mr. Turner. In 2000, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Fire Brigade</span> Fire and Rescue service in London

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992 staff, including 5,096 operational firefighters and officers based at 102 fire stations.

Daniel Casey is an English actor. He is best known for playing DS Gavin Troy, the original sidekick of DCI Tom Barnaby, for the first six series of the long-running television programme Midsomer Murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Studios</span> Television production company

ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is based in 12 countries across 60 production labels, with local production offices in the UK, US, Belgium, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, France, Spain and Scandinavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanne Froggatt</span> English actress (born 1980)

Joanne Froggatt is a British actress. From 2010 to 2015, she portrayed Anna Bates in the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey, for which she received three Emmy nominations and won the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. From 2017 to 2020, she starred as Laura Nielson in the ITV/Sundance drama series Liar.

<i>Law & Order: UK</i> British police procedural television series

Law & Order: UK is a British police procedural and legal television programme broadcast from 2009 to 2014 on ITV, adapted from the American series Law & Order. Financed by the production companies Kudos Film and Television, Wolf Films, and Universal Television, the series originally starred Bradley Walsh, Freema Agyeman, Jamie Bamber, Ben Daniels, Harriet Walter and Bill Paterson. Dominic Rowan, Georgia Taylor, Paul Nicholls, Ben Bailey Smith, Sharon Small, Peter Davison and Paterson Joseph joined the cast in later series. This is the first American drama television series to be adapted for British television, while the episodes are adapted from scripts and episodes of the parent series.

Daniel Ryan is an English actor and writer. He is known for starring as Darren Alexander in the BBC drama comedy Linda Green, Andrew Gilligan in The Government Inspector, Andy Coulson in Steel River Blues and Kenny Reed in The Whistleblowers. His stage credits include Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard III. Since 2019, he has played DI Tony Manning in The Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monica Dolan</span> English actress

Monica Margaret Dolan is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in Appropriate Adult (2011).

Stuart Graham is a Northern Irish film, television, and stage actor, born and brought up in Northern Ireland.

<i>The Smoke</i> (TV series) British drama television series

The Smoke is a British firefighter television drama that debuted on Sky1 on 20 February 2014. The series was created and written by Lucy Kirkwood and stars Jamie Bamber, Taron Egerton, Jodie Whittaker and Rhashan Stone.

<i>Unforgotten</i> British crime drama series

Unforgotten is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cassie Stuart, DCI Jessie James and DI Sunny Khan as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder.

<i>Marcella</i> (TV series) British television series

Marcella is a British Nordic noir detective series, written, directed and produced by Swedish screenwriter Hans Rosenfeldt, creator of The Bridge. The series is produced by Buccaneer Media for ITV and distributed worldwide by Buccaneer's parent company Cineflix. It was first shown on ITV on 4 April 2016, with seven further episodes released weekly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service</span> Emergency fire and rescue service in England

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is a statutory emergency fire and rescue service covering the local authority areas of Wiltshire, Swindon, Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in England.

<i>Liar</i> (TV series) British TV drama series (2017 & 2020)

Liar is a British thriller television series created by Harry and Jack Williams, and co-produced by ITV and SundanceTV. The series stars Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd as two people whose initial attraction leads to far-reaching consequences for them and their friends and families. The series premiered on ITV on 11 September 2017, with the first series concluding on 16 October 2017. Upon its debut, it received positive reviews, with many critics praising the performances of Froggatt and Gruffudd. The programme was renewed for a second and final series, which premiered on 2 March 2020, concluding on 6 April 2020.

References

  1. "ITV Studios - Steel River Blues". Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  2. "Steel River Blues". Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  3. "Steel River Blues". Offthetelly.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  4. "ITV pulls the plug on Steel River Blues". Broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Barb.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2014. (No permanent link available. Search for relevant dates.)