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Peter Flannery once famously said of Our Friends in the North, "... it's just a posh soap opera - but it's a posh soap opera with something to say."

And now he has rewritten his multi-award winning and highly acclaimed television series as an audio drama for Â鶹Éç Radio 4. Ambitious in scale and scope, the drama chronicles the lives of four friends over three decades beginning in the 1964. The series tackles corporate, political and police corruption in the 1960s, the rise and fall of the Soho porn empires in the 1970s, the Miners’ Strike of the 1980s and the rise of New Labour in the 1990s. Some of the stories are directly based on the real-life controversies involving T. Dan Smith and John Poulson in Newcastle during the 60s and 70s. The adapted series now ends with a new, tenth episode by writer Adam Usden, bringing the story up to the present day.

In episode 9, it's now 1995. Nicky has returned from Italy to Newcastle, Mary is now a Labour MP, and Tosker and Elaine are about to launch their new business - a floating nightclub on the Tyne.

Cast
Florrie / Mrs Wilkinson: Tracey Wilkinson
Priest: Andrew Byron
Nicky: James Baxter
Sean Collins: Alfie Williams
Geordie / Anthony: Luke MacGregor
Tosker: Philip Correia
Elaine: Eve Shotton
Felix: Trevor Fox
Mary: Norah Lopez Holden
Christopher Collins: Tom Goodman-Hill

Writer: Peter Flannery
Studio Engineer: Paul Clark
Sound Design: Jon Nicholls
Trainee Production Co-ordinator: Emma O'Mahoney
Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer: Jeremy Mortimer

A Sparklab production for Â鶹Éç Radio 4