Our Friends in the North: 1984
11:10 pm - 12:20 am, Wednesday, July 8 on BBC Four (9)
Add to Favourites
About this Broadcast
1984
Season 1, Episode 7
The miners' strike dominates the country and Mary and Tosker find themselves facing their policeman son on the picket lines. However, things pick up as Tosker makes his first million, and Nicky returns to Newcastle as a professional photographer. Christopher Eccleston, Daniel Craig, Mark Strong and Gina McKee star
subtitles
16x9
General
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Christopher Eccleston
(Actor)
.. Nicky Hutchinson
Gina McKee
(Actor)
.. Mary Cox
Mark Strong
(Actor)
.. Tosker `Terry" Cox
Peter Vaughan
(Actor)
.. Felix Hutchinson
Freda Dowie
(Actor)
.. Florrie Hutchinson
Daniel Casey
(Actor)
.. Anthony Cox
David Bradley
(Actor)
.. Eddie Wells
David Whitaker
(Actor)
.. Toby Roddy
David Walmsley
(Actor)
.. Barry Roddy
Trevor Fox
(Actor)
.. Harry
Larry Lamb
(Actor)
.. Alan Roe
Stephanie Putson
(Actor)
.. Bernadette Cox
Craig Conway
(Actor)
.. Christopher Collins
Saskia Wickham
(Actor)
.. Claudia Seabrook
Sean Gilder
(Actor)
.. PC Lukoschek
Amber Styles
(Actor)
.. Rita Roddy
Peter Flannery
(Writer)
Simon Cellan Jones
(Director)
Charles Pattinson
(Producer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Christopher Eccleston
(Actor)
.. Nicky Hutchinson
Born:
February 16, 1964
in
Salford
Best Known For:
Doctor Who.
Early-life:
Christopher Eccleston was born on February 16, 1964, in Salford, Manchester, but raised in Eccles. His father worked in a factory, and he knew he didn't want to follow in his footsteps, preferring to dream of a career as a Manchester United footballer. However, he realised he was better at acting than soccer, so after studying at Salford Technical College, he enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career:
Following his graduation in 1986, Eccleston spent several years without an acting job, making ends meet as a labourer. He eventually made his professional stage debut at the Bristol Old Vic, and gained plaudits for his first film, Let Him Have It. Major roles in Cracker, Shallow Grave and Our Friends in the North made him an instantly recognisable figure. He's since appeared in such projects as Jude, Hillsborough, Elizabeth, The Others, 24 Hour Party People, 28 Days Later, and The Second Coming. In 2005 he became the ninth official Doctor Who, but quit after one series to avoid being typecast. He's since appeared in Heroes, GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Lennon Naked, Accused, The Shadow Line, and HBO drama The Leftovers.
Quote:
'I don't want to be thought of as the Doctor to the exclusion of everything else I've done or may do.'
Trivia:
He supports Manchester United and used to be a regular marathon runner.
Gina McKee
(Actor)
.. Mary Cox
Born:
April 14, 1964
in
Sunderland
Best Known For:
Our Friends in the North.
Early-life:
Born in Sunderland in 1964, she was raised in Easington, County Durham, by non-theatrical parents. Notoriously reticent at talking about her family, but she does admit to being a highly creative and imaginative child who loved to draw, write stories and act out plays. She became hooked on acting and, while not encouraged by her parents, they didn't stand in her way when she won a role on TV show Quest of Eagles before joining the National Youth Theatre.
Career:
At 17, McKee auditioned but was turned down by drama school. At first, she thought she wouldn't make it in showbusiness, but continued auditioning anyway. She appeared on TV in such programmes as An Actor's Life for Me, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Inspector Morse, and The Lenny Henry Show. McKee also made a handful of movies, most notably Mike Leigh's Naked, before hitting the big time with miniseries Our Friends in the North in 1996, for which she won a Bafta. Since then, she's appeared in such acclaimed projects as Notting Hill, Croupier, The Forsyte Saga, The Lost Prince and The Borgias.
Quote:
'Some people can talk about their private lives to the media, and good luck to them. But I just don't feel comfortable. And I wouldn't be any good at it - showing people around my kitchen or whatever. I'd be pathetic in fact.'
Trivia:
In 2002, McKee received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland.
Mark Strong
(Actor)
.. Tosker `Terry" Cox
Born:
August 05, 1963
in
London
Best Known For:
Being a prolific character actor.
Early-life:
Born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London on August 5, 1963, Mark is the son of an Austrian mother and an Italian father. His father left home soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother. She had has name changed by deed poll when he was young. He studied in Munich with the intention of becoming a lawyer but after a year, he returned to London to study English and drama at Royal Holloway, University of London. He went on to develop his acting craft at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Career:
Strong made his TV debut in a 1989 episode of After Henry and followed this up with a number of guest roles in the likes of The Bill, Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect 3 and Kavanagh QC. In 1996, he had a starring role in acclaimed BBC miniseries Our Friends in the North. Since then he has appeared in dozens of TV shows and featured in a number of films, including Revolver (2005), Syriana (2005), RocknRolla (2008), Kick-Ass (2010), Robin Hood (2010), Green Lantern (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), John Carter (2012) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). In 2013, Strong played a detective in short-lived AMC crime drama Low Winter Sun, reprising the lead role he played in the original 2006 British miniseries.
Quote:
'Because I had children relatively late - in my 40s rather than in my 20s - it wasn't anything I ever knew that I would do. It kind of happened to me: I met the right woman and we had children.'
Trivia:
Away from acting, Strong is heavily in demand as a narrator.
Peter Vaughan
(Actor)
.. Felix Hutchinson
Freda Dowie
(Actor)
.. Florrie Hutchinson
Daniel Casey
(Actor)
.. Anthony Cox
David Bradley
(Actor)
.. Eddie Wells
David Whitaker
(Actor)
.. Toby Roddy
David Walmsley
(Actor)
.. Barry Roddy
Trevor Fox
(Actor)
.. Harry
Larry Lamb
(Actor)
.. Alan Roe
Born:
October 10, 1947
in
London
Best Known For:
Playing Archie in EastEnders.
Early-life:
Born in London in 1943, Lamb joined the oil industry, which resulted in him working in Libya and Canada, where he attended St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. This developed his amateur interest in acting into a professional level, performing at Canada's Stratford Festival in 1975-1976. He returned to the UK, and became a regular cast member, along with Kate O'Mara, in the BBC's North Sea ferry based soap Triangle (1981-83), in which he played Matt Taylor, the ship's Chief Engineer.
Career:
Other credits include The New Avengers, The Professionals, Fox, Minder, Get Back, Lovejoy, Get Back, A Touch of Frost, Our Friends in the North, Taggart, Casualty, Kavanagh QC, Spooks, Midsomer Murders and The Bill. Lamb has also appeared in various films including the 1980s hit Buster also starring Phil Collins and Julie Walters, as Peter Chase in Essex Boys and in 1983, had a small speaking role in the blockbuster Superman III. Most recently, Lamb has been seen in Gavin & Stacey playing Gavin's father, Michael Shipman. In 2008, he began playing the part of twisted, manipulative Archie Mitchell in Eastenders.
Quote:
"Archie is two characters rolled into one - he is Mr Nice and Mr Nasty!"
Trivia:
He is the father of BBC 6 Music disc jockey, Celebrity Scissorhands and Big Brother's Little Brother presenter George Lamb.
Stephanie Putson
(Actor)
.. Bernadette Cox
Craig Conway
(Actor)
.. Christopher Collins
Saskia Wickham
(Actor)
.. Claudia Seabrook
Sean Gilder
(Actor)
.. PC Lukoschek
Amber Styles
(Actor)
.. Rita Roddy
Peter Flannery
(Writer)
Simon Cellan Jones
(Director)
Charles Pattinson
(Producer)
