The Street, Jimmy McGovern's powerful, multi-award-winning drama, returns to BBC One for an eagerly anticipated third series.

 

The show, which won British TV's top industry awards for two consecutive years, picking up both the 2007 and 2008 BAFTA and Royal Television Society Awards for best drama series, as well as international Emmys, comes to BBC One soon.

 

The Street, an ITV Studios for BBC One, is produced by Matthew Bird and the executive script editor is Roxy Spencer.

 

As with the first two series, McGovern has mentored up-and-coming writers to create uncompromising potent stories about people who live on the same street in the North West of England, although the first and sixth episodes are wholly McGovern's voice.

 

Leading directors David Blair and Terry McDonough return to direct The Street, and the executive producers are Jimmy McGovern and Sita Williams for ITV Studios. The BBC executive producer is Polly Hill, Commissioning Editor, Independent Drama, BBC England.

 

Once again, the series has attracted the cream of British acting. The best performing talent has been drawn by the prospect of working on arguably one of our finest series.

 

Episode Synopsis:

 

Episode One

 

Reformed alcoholic Paddy Gargan (Bob Hoskins) is landlord of The Greyhound which he runs with his hard-working wife, Lizzie (Frances Barber). The pub is hub of the community where everyone drinks and has their dos. But Paddy's biggest spending customer is local gangster Thomas Miller (Liam Cunningham), who also finances the Greyhound's football team.

 

Then, after footie one day, Paddy catches Miller's son Callum (Robert Elms) smoking in the toilets and bars him from the pub. He has to be seen to mean business; the smoking fine is five grand. Miller is furious and challenges Paddy to unbar Callum, but Paddy's resolute.

 

Miller says if Paddy won't serve him and his son at 3.30 the next day, he'll break every bone in his body. Paddy's son Liam (David Atkins) threatens to stab Miller if there's any trouble. Lizzie begs him to go to the police or to keep the pub closed the next day, but Paddy won't. Next morning Paddy tells Liam that he's decided to serve the Millers after all and he goes back to university. But this story was just to make sure Liam stayed out of it. Of course he's not going to serve the Millers. Lizzie is beside herself with worry. Who will back Paddy up now?

 

Episode Two

 

Single mother Dee Purnell (Anna Friel) would do anything for her two boys. Six months ago she moved into the street in a bid to move Jack (Jordan Hill) and Luke (Sam Lenthall) into St Peter's School from rough Denton Green where Jack is being bullied so badly that he wets the bed. Moving into the school's catchment area has meant taking on a bigger mortgage and to make ends meet, Dee works weekends at a sauna in Bolton in addition to her weekday job at a DIY store. Working as a prostitute in the sauna is only for another six months; just until she's cleared the mortgage arrears and the boys are in St Peter's.

 

However, when Dee's boiler completely packs up in the middle of winter, and handsome plumber Mark (Daniel Mays) arrives to fix it, he convinces her to start seeing him though she knows she shouldn't. He's a single dad with a 12-year-old footie-mad girl, Megan (Chelsea Cowper), who's already at St Peter's.

 

Mark is great with Jack and Luke and adores Dee but, when she's introduced to Mark's father, Joe (David Bradley), he recognises her from the sauna. Dee knows she has to finish it with Mark. Joe viciously warns her off Mark, sickened by the thought that she's around his son and grand-daughter.

 

Dee has started falling in love with Mark and tries to break it off, but Mark won't give up easily and wants to know why she's pushing him away. Then St Peter's refuses to take her boys and Dee needs a shoulder to cry on more than ever, but to whom can she turn? One thing's for sure: Dee's sacrificed so much for her boys, she's not going to let them down now.

 

Episode Three

 

On the street, a phone is ringing in the Calshaw's house but nobody's home. TA soldier Private Nick Calshaw (Jonas Armstrong) is calling from Afghanistan. He's managed to get hold of a satellite phone and sneak a call to tell his family that he's okay. The answer phone kicks in and he leaves a message. On her return from school his sister Ellie (Kirstie Leigh Porter) plays back the message. As Nick talks, there are panicked shouts in the background, a baby starts to cry, someone shouts "Shoot her!", there's a massive explosion and the line goes dead.

 

Ellie calls her parents Alan (Ian Pulston Davies) and Kim (Siobhan Finneran) who come rushing home, frantic with worry. Nick's fiancee Gemma (Emily Beecham) runs out of the school where she's teaching. Later, two army officials call at the house, to tell them there's been an incident in Afghanistan that their son was involved in.

 

Nick is travelling home on a train with fellow squaddie, Rob (Lee Turnball), while back on the street his family are preparing a welcome home party. A little boy on the train looks at Nick and screws up his face. A baby's crying on the train is really getting to Nick. They notice a Muslim Arab couple amongst their fellow passengers and Rob says he hates Muslims. Nick can't take any more of Rob's attitudes and incessant talking. He goes to the toilet and looks in the mirror at his horribly scarred face.

 

As Nick emerges from the taxi outside his family home, the full extent of his facial disfigurement is revealed to his shocked parents and Ellie. The full horror of what has happened to their beautiful Nick comes home. Everyone is trying to play down his horrific injury. Nick can't take it anymore and leaves seeking sanctuary with his girlfriend, Gemma. They embrace and have a heartfelt reunion.

 

But, in spite of being surrounded by those who love him, Nick's becoming increasingly depressed and withdrawn. He can't find work looking like he does. The army won't take him back because he's bad for morale. He starts to seek refuge in drink and drugs.

 

What's more, Nick keeps listening to his answer phone message over and over, timing it. It becomes clear that back on that terrible day in Afghanistan he had eight seconds to react to a life-threatening situation. But was the choice he made right? Guilt is eating him up. The question is: could he have saved his friends lives? He didn't shoot the suicide bomber because he says his rifle jammed – but did it? Will he ever be whole again and be able to heal from the inside out?

 

Episode Four

 

Bigoted and cantankerous head chef Kieran Corrigan (Joseph Mawle) has had enough of foreign workers flooding into this country. If anyone can stand to listen to him he's ready to give his ignorant racist diatribe. They're taking our jobs and driving the wages down. Especially the Poles and they did nothing to help in the Second World War. And, according to Kieran, they can't speak English properly and the bus drivers don't know the routes.

 

Not surprisingly Kieran is lonely. Raised by his grandfather, who was a war hero, Kieran blames the Poles for his grandad's missed chance to be a Manchester City player. In the kitchen where he works he's the only white face. He goes on a blind date with Maria (Tanya Moddie). He deals with her on the phone every day at work but, on discovering she's black, Kieran can't hide his racism.

 

Unlike the hard-working immigrants, Kieran's best mate Duffy (Steve Marsh) has never done a day's work in his life. Duffy is permanently on invalidity benefit. After a drinking session in the pub one night, they approach a burning building. A little Polish girl Anna (Zuzanna Glebocka) is screaming at the window for help. Staring up at the girl's terrified face, Kieran is frozen to the spot with fear and does nothing, whereas Duffy charges past him, races into the burning house and rescues the girl from one of the upper floors. Handing the child to Kieran he tells him: "You did this, I'm on invalidity."

 

Kieran fast becomes a local hero – picture in the paper, free drinks at the pub, adulation from women, applauded by his colleagues and, most importantly, showered with gratitude from the child's beautiful mother, Olenka (Julia Krynke). She's homeless and destitute because of the fire, so Kieran valiantly offers her a roof over her head and then things really start to get complicated. Perhaps, finally Kieran can grow into a better man.

 

Episode Five

 

Street resident Shay Ryan (Stephen Graham) tells his AA group about the moment he became an alcoholic, as opposed to a very heavy drinker. It was the day that armed gunmen held up the betting shop where he was manager, leaving Shay traumatised. Before the robbery, Shay had always needed a drink every night. After the robbery, it was every morning too.

 

Then one day, Madeleine (Maxine Peake) – an ex-girlfriend Shay hasn't seen for years – comes to see Shay at work to inform him he's got a son. Otto (Leon Harrop) is 16 years old and has asked to meet his dad. Madeleine didn't tell Shay about Otto because she wanted nothing more to do with him. Shay poisons everything he touches and she didn't want him near Otto. Back then Shay's drinking was becoming personally corrosive and destructive to those around him.

 

Now Shay is hopelessly addicted to vodka which he mixes with coke to attempt to hide his alcoholism. His life is a mess. His student lodgers are moving out because of his negligence as a landlord and he's constantly being battered for being drunk and abusive in the pub. When the father of one of his student lodgers attacks Shay for refusing to pay his rental deposit back, Shay borrows the £200 from the till at work, is caught and gets the sack.

 

Madeleine and Otto arrive at Shay's for lunch as arranged but, when Shay looks through the window and sees that his son Otto has Down's syndrome, he can't bring himself to answer the door. Madeleine tries to console a devastated Otto, taking him home. Typically, Shay proceeds to drink himself into a stupor.

 

Otto returns alone to Shay's the next day, carrying a plastic bag. Shay tries to send him away, saying he can't understand him, but a distraught Madeleine calls to see if Otto is with Shay and comes over to take him home. Otto has left his plastic bag. Later, when Shay opens it, he's moved because it contains many loose photos of Otto when he was a baby, child, boy, adolescent, young man. Shay's lost 16 years of his boy's life. Can he pull himself out of his alcoholic malaise and learn to live again and embrace a life enriched by Otto?

 

Now, after six months without at drink, in the AA meeting Shay reveals to the group that he understands why Madeleine won't let him see his son again. But now Shay lives in hope.

 

Episode Six

 

Back in the cash-strapped McEvoy household, Margie (Ger Ryan) has moved in temporarily with her daddy (Tony Rohr) to take care of him after his stroke. Daughter Leanne (Lindzey cocker), unable to cope on her own with baby Edward, has gone along too, leaving Eddie (Timothy Spall) and David (James Varley) home alone.

 

Eddie's distraught and begs Margie not to go because daddy doesn't deserve his daughter's help because he hit both her and her mother. Because of his year driving ban, Eddie now works in control at Alpha Zero Cabs alongside new girl, Sandra (Ruth Jones). She's a real plain Jane, but has set her sights on kind-hearted Eddie. Noticing that he's hopeless at looking after himself, she starts making his lunches for him. She asks him over to fix a broken window pane in her flat and cooks him a meal.

 

Desperate for cash, Eddie tries to sell his taxi plate. Bomber (Lee Boardman) agrees to pay £30,000. Bomber shows up at Eddie's with 28 grand saying he won't get any more than that for cash at the moment. Times are hard, the job's not what it used to be. Furious that Bomber has tried to cheat him, Eddie throws him out. When Eddie tells Margie he rejected Bomber's 28 grand, she says she loves him and she's really proud.

 

He begs her to come home, but she won't leave her dad. Meanwhile, Sandra lures Eddie round again and Eddie's kind heart gets him into deep water. Before too long Margie comes home and Eddie and the family start to regain their equilibrium, but when Eddie takes Margie to dinner to talk frankly fate intervenes with heart-breaking consequences.

 

Are any of you fans of what I consider the best drama series on BBC TV or not?

Saw this tonight (I only saw a few episodes from previous series) and I intend watching all of them. I knew from the synopsis that this was going to be a 'High Noon' for the Northwest and it was just so. Even down to the bad guy's name - Tom Miller (Frank Miller being the bad guy in the original film).

 

Good stuff.

 

Norma

By the way ... my nephew was in this as an extra!

 

Norma

Episode Two:

 

British TV at its very finest.

 

It really does seem like Jimmy McGovern scripts are to Anna Friel's acting what Quincy Jones' production were to Michael Jackson's albums.

 

In many ways I preferred this episode to last week's High Noon homage, as this was very dark, gritty, bleak and emotional stuff (i.e. as far apart from Pushing Daisies as possible) even if overall the cast was not as strong as last week, as Anna outshone the rest of the cast in a stellar performance that cries potential BAFTA nomination.

 

Hopefully they wont leave it another 15 years to work together again.

Episode Two:

 

British TV at its very finest.

 

It really does seem like Jimmy McGovern scripts are to Anna Friel's acting what Quincy Jones' production were to Michael Jackson's albums.

 

In many ways I preferred this episode to last week's High Noon homage, as this was very dark, gritty, bleak and emotional stuff (i.e. as far apart from Pushing Daisies as possible) even if overall the cast was not as strong as last week, as Anna outshone the rest of the cast in a stellar performance that cries potential BAFTA nomination.

 

Hopefully they wont leave it another 15 years to work together again.

 

I preferred tonight's episode to last week's too! However it was for Friel's performance (although the others were good). As an ensemble piece though last week's was probably better.

 

Norma

Not as good as last week's episode by a good ensemble performance, with a great script.

 

A very welcome change after 3 years in the awful waste of taxpayers money that was the BBC's noughties revival of Robin Hood for Jonas Armstrong then. :lol:

Although the story was harrowing, I thought Jonas Armstrong was great as Nick. He certainly is not a one-trick-pony.