Episode 8: 1987

Peter Flannery once famously said of Our Friends in the North, "I've always said it's just a posh soap opera - but it's a posh soap opera with something to say."

Ambitious in scale and scope, the drama chronicles the lives of four friends over three decades beginning in the 1960s. The series tackles corporate, political and police corruption in the 1960s, the rise and fall of the Soho porn empires in the 1970s, the nouveau riche and the Miners’ Strike of the 1980s and the rise of New Labour in the 1990s. Some of the stories are directly based on the real-life controversies involving T. Dan Smith and John Poulson in Newcastle during the 60s and 70s.

In episode 8 it’s 1987, the year of The Great Storm. Nicky, now a well-known photographer, has been married to Mary for two years, Tosker and Mary are now grandparents, and Geordie is still missing.

Cast
Florrie / Psychiatrist: Tracey Wilkinson
Felix: Trevor Fox
Nicky / Christopher Collins: James Baxter
Tosker: Philip Correia
Elaine / Alice: Eve Shotton
Mary / Francine: Norah Lopez Holden
Geordie: Luke MacGregor
Eddie Wells: James Gaddas
Colin Butler: Tom Goodman-Hill

Writer: Peter Flannery
Studio Engineer: Paul Clark
Sound Design: Steve Brooke
Trainee Production Co-ordinator: Emma O'Mahoney
Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer

A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.