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The Street
BBC1, 1/6 Monday 13 July 9:00pm - 10:00pm
Jimmy McGovern's Bafta-winning series returns with more morality tales about ordinary Brits on a terraced street in Manchester. When he's on song McGovern is as good as anyone at dramatising the letdowns and wrong turns of everyday life, dressed up as hard-hitting, high-stakes tragedy. In this opener, he's not in full flame-thrower mode, but it's a tense, involving story nonetheless. Bob Hoskins stars as pub landlord Paddy, who one day catches teenager Calum smoking in the gents' loo and bars him. But Calum's father is Tom (Liam Cunningham), a local Mr Big whose interests span building, drug dealing - and funding the pub's football team. When Tom demands his son be served, he and Paddy move towards a violent confrontation with a weird formality, rather like 18th-century duellists choosing their pistols. As the ritual unfolds we have plenty of time to reflect on issues like honour and the heroism of the little man. Cunningham is good and there's a brief cameo from Timothy Spall, who returns as hopeless minicab-driver Eddie, but Hoskins' performance is what makes this worth watching.
VIDEO Plus+: 8868
Subtitled, Widescreen, Audio-described
Episode written by Jimmy McGovern
Cast
Paddy - Bob Hoskins
Miller - Liam Cunningham
Lizzie - Frances Barber
Eddie - Timothy Spall
Margie - Ger Ryan
Calum - Robert Emms
Bob - Steve Evets
Liam - David Atkins
Siobhan - Charlotte Lewis
Orla - Jazmine Franks
Tommy - Steve Garti
Deano - Nick Ramwell
Jane - Elizabeth Berrington
Charlie - Julian Walsh
Jill - Liz Hulme Dawson
Tony - Tony Pitts
Directed by: David Blair
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