Julie Gearey’s six-part opener drops Polly Walker, Pippa Haywood, Emma Rigby and Natalie Gavin into the same visitors’ room at HMP Highcross. Gemma’s fairytale marriage collapses when husband Steve is arrested for murder; Francesca discovers her gangster spouse Paul has hidden £3 million under the patio; Harriet keeps up respectable appearances while her timid teacher son languishes on remand; Lou, pregnant and skint, smuggles contraband to survive. Shot around Sheffield’s Park Hill flats and the old town hall, the drama stays outside the walls, tracing bail conditions, confiscation orders and the moment a door closes on a prison van.
The second run, trimmed to four episodes and broadcast a year later, swaps half the cast: Sally Carman and Karla Crome arrive as Kim and Aisling, while Nicola Walker’s DCI Jo Fontaine tightens the net. Viewing slipped from 5.26 million to 4.86 million, yet the slot held steady enough for BBC One to let the stories finish on their own bleak terms. Composer Daniel Pemberton threads gospel-tinged electronics under scenes of women counting phone credit and signing visitor forms.
Tiger Aspect produced, with Gearey joined in the writers’ room by James Graham and Chloe Moss; Damon Thomas and Harry Bradbeer alternate directing duties. The series never returned after April 2013, leaving Francesca’s burned-out club, Harriet’s shattered composure and Gemma’s solitary school run as the last images.
Production Details
BBC One / 2 Seasons / 10 Episodes / 2012
Created by: Julie Gearey
Writer(s): .mw-parser-output .plainlist ol, .mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li, .mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0} Julie Gearey James Graham Chloe Moss
Producer(s): Anna Ferguson
Main Cast
Polly Walker as Francesca
Pippa Haywood as Harriet
Iain Glen as Paul
Phoebe Dynevor as Lauren
David Bradley as Frank
Emma Rigby as Gemma
Jonas Armstrong as Steve
Andrew Tiernan as DS David Hunter
Anthony Flanagan as Andy
Jason Watkins as Will
Anne Reid as Margaret
Nicola Walker as DCI Jo Fontaine
