The
ebb and flow of life in the capital is captured as London
Bridge - Carlton's widely praised serial, moves to a new,
twice weekly, early-evening time.
Following the success of the first 26-part late night series,
London Bridge is given the opportunity to reach a much larger
audience and expand the scope and character of the drama.
The serial - which begins on Monday November 25 at 6.30pm
- is the creation of executive producer Jane Tranter, story
editor Pippa Harris and producer Matthew Bird, and it is
storylined by associate producer Alexei de Keyser.
Says Jane: "It is an adult soap which takes itself
fairly seriously, but at the same time it has a lot of irony
and humour. Hopefully people will look at each other on
the tube, bus and on the streets and recognise the characters
from London Bridge.
Set in and around a restaurant and flats by the River Thames,
London Bridge is the first drama serial created specially
for the region, winning a devoted audience since its launch
last February.
The restaurant SE1 is owned and run by brother and sister
Liz and Nick Kemp. Isobel, Nick's wife, is struggling to
put the spark back into her marriage following the birth
of their daughter, and Jed, Liz's son, is poised to take
his final exams for The Knowledge. When Nick's childhood
friend Cliff arrives shrouding their dark secret, he is
given a job in the kitchen and a room to sleep in - much
to Liz's annoyance.
Two young employees join SEI - Lucy, a sassy, sharp-tongued,
trainee chef and Jarvis, the kitchen boy, whose brain never
quite Mdnages to get into first gear.
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Elsewhere
in the building Mary, who recently endured a harrowing
sexual attack, is considering embarking on an illicit
affair with Nick; and Ant and Ravi search for a new
female flatmate. But who would want to live with Ant,
a charmer who thinks the world owes him a living and
Ravi whose overly competent girlfriend, GP Sam Haynes,
keeps both of them under her thumb?
Other new characters include Allie, who works as the
receptionist at Sam's surgery and can't resist making
her own diagnosis on unsuspecting patients, and the
Synunons family who run the local shop and whose teenage
daughter Kim becomes the vulnerable target of an unscrupulous
photographer.
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London
Bridge stars: Rosalind March as Liz Kemp; Oliver Haden as
Nick Kemp; Sally Edwards as Isobel Kemp; Ayub Khan Din as
Ravi Shah; Mandana Jones as Sam Haynes; Simone Lahbib as
Mary O'Connor; Charles Simpson as Ant Webster; Sean Francis
as Jed Kemp; Dawn McDaniel as Allie; Reginald Tsiboe as
Dave Symmons; Ellen Thomas as Diane Symmons; Kemi Baruwa
as Kim Symmons; Amelia Curtis as Lucy; Glen Berry as Jarvis
and Billy Geraghty as Cliff.
Says Jane Tranter: "This new commission enables us
to gain access to a wider audience and expand the scope
and character of the serial, whilst at the same time, retaining
the challenge and individuality of producing a drama about
Londoners, for Londoners, made by Londoners.
"We wanted to make it about people living together
in a block of flats because it is particular to life in
big cities", says Jane. "Living in flats can be
fun, but at the same time it can be irritating. You can
hear and see people living in very close proximity yet,
they are not part of a chosen community.
London Bridge continues its commitment to creating a unique
opportunity for a raft of up-and-coming writers, actors
and directors - some earning their first television credit.
"The serial grew out of the success of our previous
regional dramas, such as the new writers' schemes Going
Underground and Capital Lives," explains Jane.
"We wanted it to be a genuine nursery slope for new
writing talent. No other long running drama does it in this
way. We thought it would provide energy, hunger and a challenge.
The best way of keeping the format fresh in a bi-weekly
serial, is constantly feed it new talent."
Likewise, the production team consists of a mixture of people
who have experience in television drama and newcomers who
are given their first opportunity. These include people
working in make-up, costume, directors and actors.
The
serial is set in Bermondsey but producer Matthew Bird
chose studios at the historic Three Mill Island in Bow
to shoot the programmes.
"To start with we looked at buildings actually
sited on the River Thames," he says, "but
Three Mill Island studios are unique because they offer
a self-contained studio complex, so we could build the
interiors as sets, light them properly and shoot like
a film. We can also go outside to have the distinctive
backdrop of The Millhouse and the river right on our
doorstep."
Matthew was keen to make each home in the Millhouse
as distinctive as possible. He explains: "A flat
conversion like The Millhouse throws together a diverse
collection of people, whose lives begin to interact
in ways quite unlike any other environment.
"It's essential that people will be able to identify
whose flat we are in immediately. So they are all painted
completely different colours to reflect the style of
the people who live in them. If it's blue you know you
are in Ant and Ravi's home and if it's green, you know
you are in the restaurant. All the sets have ceilings,
which makes them extremely solid." |
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SAM PROFILE RAVI PROFILE CHARITY
EVENT - 25th June 1998
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