Episode 10: 2022

Available for over a year

Peter Flannery once famously said of his television series: "… it's just a posh soap opera - but it's a posh soap opera with something to say." This series adapted for radio ends with a new, tenth episode by writer Adam Usden, bringing the story to the present day. He has picked up several characters from 26 years ago - Roy Cox (Tosker’s grandson) and Christopher Collins (tearaway Sean Collins’ dad) and placed them in the same city, where they deal with new and not-so-new challenges. These include housing conditions, young people’s engagement with politics and father/son relationships. Adam Usden says, “The original show was defiantly, wonderfully unsentimental. One of the things I loved was that even when people failed in the immediate moment, very often we saw how flashes of kindness, warmth and moral courage redeem them in surprising ways, sometimes decades later, even if the people never realised the impact their actions had on others. Legacy hangs over everything and setting a story 26 years after the show ended gives me a real chance to explore that.” It’s 2021, Roy’s business is taking a hit, Amy is juggling nursing shifts and childcare and the cladded high-rise flat they love is a fire-risk. And it all started so well… Dedicated to the memory of Warren Usden. Cast Amy: Bryony Corrigan Roy: David Leon Kira: Lucy Aiston Wazza: Noel Walton Christopher: Tom Goodman-Hill Mike: Tom Machell Writer: Adam Usden 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