The Smoke (TV series)

British drama television series

The Smoke

Genre| Drama
Created by| Lucy Kirkwood
Written by| Lucy Kirkwood
Chloe Moss
Daragh Carville
Tim Price
Directed by| Mike Barker
Samuel Donovan
Julian Holmes
Starring| Jamie Bamber
Jodie Whittaker
Rhashan Stone
Taron Egerton
Pippa Bennett-Warner
Gerard Kearns
Dorian Lough
David Walmsley
Martyn Ellis
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of series| 1
No. of episodes| 8
Production
Production location| London
Running time| 60 minutes (Including Advertisements)
Original release
Network| Sky1
Release| 20 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Main

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

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 Barker| Lucy Kirkwood| 20 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 Barker| Lucy Kirkwood| 27 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 Donovan| Lucy Kirkwood| 6 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 Donovan| Lucy Kirkwood, Chloe Moss & Tim Price| 13 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 Holmes| Lucy Kirkwood & Daragh Carville| 20 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 Holmes| Lucy Kirkwood| 27 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 Barker| Lucy Kirkwood| 3 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 Barker| Lucy Kirkwood| 10 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

* London's Burning
* Steel River Blues
* Chicago Fire

## References

[edit]

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".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* The Smoke at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Sky One, Sky Comedy and Sky Max original programming

| 1980s debuts|

* The DJ Kat Show
* Fun Factory
* The New Price Is Right
* Sale of the Century

|

1990s debuts|

* Blockbusters
* CI5: The New Professionals
* Diana: Her True Story
* Dream Team
* Games World
* Guilty!
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* Police Stop!
* Prickly Heat
* Space Island One
* Space Precinct
* Spellbound
* Springhill
* Through the Keyhole
* Uncovered
* The Villa
* The Wanderer

2000s debuts|

* All-Star Cup
* Angela and Friends
* Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?
* Baddiel's Syndrome
* Badger or Bust
* Big Ron Manager
* The Bombmaker
* Brainiac: History Abuse
* Brainiac: Science Abuse
* Brainiac's Test Tube Baby
* Britain's Hardest
* Cirque de Celebrité
* Dirty Money
* Don't Forget the Lyrics!
* Ed vs. Spencer
* Entertainment Tonight UK
* Fear Factor
* Fight School
* Football Icon
* Gamezville
* Gladiators
* Grease: The School Musical
* Guinness World Records Smashed
* Hairspray: The School Musical
* Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show
* Hex
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* Noel's HQ
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* Ross Kemp: Behind the Story
* Ross Kemp in Afghanistan
* Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates
* Ross Kemp on Gangs
* Sell Me the Answer
* Shock Treatment
* Skellig
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* Street Wars
* The Stretch
* The Sun Military Awards
* The Take
* Taste
* Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
* Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic
* There's Something About Miriam
* Time Gentleman, Please!
* UK Border Force
* Vroom! Vroom!
* Wayne Rooney's Street Striker

2010s debuts|

* After Hours
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* The Angel
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* Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza
* Bliss
* Bounty Hunters
* Brassic
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* Don't Stop Me Now!
* Duck Quacks Don't Echo
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* Football's Next Star
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* Gadget Geeks
* Got to Dance
* Harrow: A Very British School
* The Heist
* Hooten & the Lady
* An Idiot Abroad
* Inside Gatwick
* In the Long Run
* Jamestown
* King of the Nerds
* The Kumars
* A League of Their Own
* Little Crackers
* Living the Dream
* Liza & Huey's Pet Nation
* Louie Spence's Showbusiness
* Mad Dogs
* The Moaning of Life
* Moominvalley
* Moonfleet
* Moone Boy
* Mount Pleasant
* Must Be the Music
* Obese: A Year to Save My Life
* One Hundred and Eighty
* Parents
* Pineapple Dance Studios
* Prison: First & Last 24 Hours
* The Reluctant Landlord
* Rob & Romesh Vs
* Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon
* Ross Kemp: Extreme World
* Rovers
* The Runaway
* The Russell Howard Hour
* Safebreakers
* Showboaters
* Sick of It
* Sick Note
* Sinbad
* Sing: Ultimate A Cappella
* The Smoke
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* Stan Lee's Lucky Man
* Starlings
* Stella
* Stop Search Seize
* Strike Back
* Temple
* Terry Pratchett's Going Postal
* Thorne
* A Touch of Cloth
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* Amadeus
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