The Tyne of their lives
Epic drama Our Friends In The North introduced viewers to four rising young stars 25 years ago
OUR Friends In The North proved groundbreaking for Daniel Craig, Mark Strong, Gina McKee and Christopher Eccleston. It helped boost their acting careers as they took us through 30 years in the lives of four Geordie friends against a backdrop that included slum housing projects, the miners’ strike and Thatcherism. The four aged from teenagers to fiftysomethings during the course of the nine-part BBC drama with their haircuts and fashions changing with them.
Mark Strong, who played Tosker, worked on his Newcastle accent by watching episodes of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and later said of the role: “There’s a kind of simpleness about him, but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid and a kind of hardness, but that doesn’t mean he’s not vulnerable. He’s just someone who’s working his b******s off to do something and get somewhere despite all the limitations holding him in.”
He and future James Bond actor Daniel Craig became close friends during filming and Daniel is also godfather to Mark’s youngest son Roman.
The epic series began 25 years ago on BBC 2 on January 15, 1996 and launched with the line “Three decades, four friends and the world that shaped their lives.” Malcolm McDowell flew from his home in America to play ruthless gangster Benny Barratt and the cast also included Alun Armstrong, David Bradley and Peter Vaughan.
Both David and Peter later went on to work on Game Of Thrones. Christopher Eccleston played Nicky Hutchinson, Gina McKee was Mary Cox and Daniel Craig was Geordie Peacock. Our Friends In The North went on to win the Bafta for best drama serial and a Royal Television Society award for best drama series, as well as the best writer honour for Peter Flannery.
Mark has said: “I think Nicky was the writer’s political side, Geordie was his sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll side and Tosker was his Newcastle side.”