The Smoke
GenreDrama
Created byLucy Kirkwood
Written byLucy Kirkwood
Chloe Moss
Daragh Carville
Tim Price
Directed byMike Barker
Samuel Donovan
Julian Holmes
StarringJamie Bamber
Jodie Whittaker
Rhashan Stone
Taron Egerton
Pippa Bennett-Warner
Gerard Kearns
Dorian Lough
David Walmsley
Martyn Ellis
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes8
Production
Production locationLondon
Running time60 minutes (Including Advertisements)
Original release
NetworkSky1
Release20 February (2014-02-20) –
10 April 2014 (2014-04-10)

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.

The show was cancelled after one series.[1]

Plot

The series describes the high-adrenaline adventures of White Watch, a team of London firefighters. Leading the crew is Kev, a good man injured and betrayed during the worst fire of his career. Standing by Kev's side as he returns to work is his gutsy girlfriend Trish and his cocksure friend and fellow firefighter Mal. Other members of the crew include the fearless Ziggy and the mysterious new boy Dennis.[2]

Cast

Main

  • Jamie Bamber as Kev Allison, the leader of White Watch.
  • Jodie Whittaker as Trish Tooley, Kev's supportive girlfriend.
  • Rhashan Stone as Mal Milligan, a member of White Watch and Kev's best friend.
  • Taron Egerton as Dennis "Asbo" Severs, the rookie of White Watch with a troubled past.
  • Pippa Bennett-Warner as Ziggy Brown, a member of White Watch.
  • Gerard Kearns as Little Al, a member of White Watch.
  • Dorian Lough as Billy "Mince", a member of White Watch.
  • David Walmsley as Rob, a member of White Watch.
  • Martyn Ellis as Big Al, station manager.

Recurring

  • Amit Shah as Nick Chandrakala, White Watch Commander.
  • Sam Gittins as Gog, the one responsible for Kev's accident.
  • Sinead Matthews as Julia Tooley, Trish's sister.
  • Elizabeth Berrington as Pauline Pynchon, a therapist.

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date Viewing Figures (000's)
Sourced by BARB; figures include Sky1 and Sky1+1
1"Episode 1"Mike BarkerLucy Kirkwood20 February 2014 (2014-02-20)939,000
Fire chief Kev returns to duty after receiving serious injuries at the hands of arsonists.
2"Episode 2"Mike BarkerLucy Kirkwood27 February 2014 (2014-02-27)807,000
Emotional wounds are reopened when Kev and Mal fall out after witnessing a tragic accident, paving the way for a threatening figure to get closer to Kev.
3"Episode 3"Samuel DonovanLucy Kirkwood6 March 2014 (2014-03-06)659,000

It's the morning after the night before and morale is low in White Watch as the team launch a risky rescue attempt. Kev discovers that Gog, a friend of fellow firefighter Asbo, was the thug responsible for his injuries and Little Al gets in over his head at a cage fight.

Guest Starring: Jessica-Jane Clement as Tanya the ring girl and Geoff Bell as Betting Thug
4"Episode 4"Samuel DonovanLucy Kirkwood, Chloe Moss & Tim Price13 March 2014 (2014-03-13)632,000
Things get very personal during a rescue when a secret of Ziggy's is exposed. The firefighters use a crane to rescue a very fat woman from her burning house. Meanwhile, Kev gets revenge on Gog by taking his pit bull to the dog pound and Trish shares some shocking news.
5"Episode 5"Julian HolmesLucy Kirkwood & Daragh Carville20 March 2014 (2014-03-20)623,000

The animosity between Dennis (Asbo) and Mal reaches boiling point, which has explosive consequences during a rescue at a dilapidated building. Meanwhile Trish visits her daughter.

Guest Starring: Lolita Chakrabarti as Rachel
6"Episode 6"Julian HolmesLucy Kirkwood27 March 2014 (2014-03-27)641,000

It's the one-year anniversary of the Churchill Estate fire and, while Dennis reaches breaking point, information comes to light that could lead Kev to the truth.

Guest Starring: Gary Lewis as Dennis's father
7"Episode 7"Mike BarkerLucy Kirkwood3 April 2014 (2014-04-03)734,000

The powerful drama intensifies as White Watch try to save Trish from an explosive situation in the Blackwall Tunnel.

Guest Starring: Simone McAullay as Nurse Janine
8"Episode 8"Mike BarkerLucy Kirkwood10 April 2014 (2014-04-10)675,000
Following the Blackwall Tunnel explosion, Kev takes drastic measures to move on. Gog is subjected to an arson attack by Rosa, a mother whose baby was murdered by Gog in the first episode.

Reception

Sam Wollaston of The Guardian was positive, remarking the first episode, 'crackles along with a tidy script and some nice performances, though it's really more about plot than getting inside the souls of its characters.'[3] Ellen E Jones of The Independent was also positive, remarking that, 'The script by fêted young playwright Lucy Kirkwood was also full of warm moments of the non-third-degree-burn-causing kind, like a raucous sing-a-long to Adele's "Someone Like You" in the back of the fire engine'.[4] Tom Rowley in The Telegraph found it full of familiar cliches, but found it showed promise.[5] The Times gave it four stars.[6]

As the series broadcast, the London Fire Brigade used social media to send out fire safety tips and encouraged members of the public to tweet or post on Facebook their own fire escape plans.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Smoke Ends". Sky.com. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Smoke TV Series - Episodes". Sky.com. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Wollaston, Sam (21 February 2014). "The Smoke – TV review". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Smoke, TV review: Lucy Kirkwood's gritty firefighting drama gets". Independent.co.uk. 20 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Smoke, Sky1, review".
  6. ↑ Billen, Andrew. "Last night's TV: The Smoke".
  7. ↑ "Firefighter's safety warning for viewers of the Smoke".
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