Steel River Blues
Steel River Blues is a British television drama series first broadcast in September 2004 on ITV. Produced by Ken Horn, it was based on the working and private lives of a group of firefighters in Middlesbrough. Critics were quick to dub the new drama "Middlesbrough's Burning" or "Teesside's Burning", after the popular fire-fighting drama that preceded it, London's Burning, yet there were very few similarities between the two, apart from them being about the business of firefighting.
Like its predecessor, Steel River Blues was an ensemble drama without any single starring part, though perhaps the best-known actor was Daniel Casey, who was previously a co-star in ITV's ratings banker, Midsomer Murders. Other stars included Joanne Farrell as Firefighter Nicky Higgins, Stuart Graham as station officer Bill McGlinchy, Daniel Ainsleigh as Firefighter Jeremy Lloyd, Satnam Bhogal as Firefighter Sunil Gupta The show's title song was performed by Middlesbrough-born Chris Rea.
It was announced in January 2005 that the series would not be recommissioned.
Main cast (in alphabetical order as shown on credits)
- Daniel Ainsleigh - Firefighter Jeremy Lloyd
- Satnam Bhogal - Firefighter Sunil Gupta
- John Bowler - Divisional Officer Mick Hammond
- Clare Buckfield - Leading Control Room Operator Katy Bell
- Mark Cameron - Firefighter Roger Hibbot
- Daniel Casey - Leading Firefighter Tony Barnes
- Charles Dale - Firefighter George Barnes
- Joanne Farrell - Firefighter Nicky Higgins
- Stuart Graham - Station Officer Bill McGlinchy
- Victoria Hawkins - Control Room Operator Sandra Harris
- Steven Hillman - Sub Officer Alan Priestley
- Nitin Kundra - Firefighter Asif Hussain
- Michael Nardone - Firefighter Dave Tanner
- Daniel Ryan - Firefighter Andy Coulson
- Kelly Wenham - Firefighter Julie Priestley