Roughnecks (TV series)

This article is about the BBC series. For the animated series in the Starship Troopers franchise, see Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles.

Roughnecks is a British television drama series, created and principally written by former Tomorrow's World presenter Kieran Prendiville, that first broadcast on BBC1 on 16 June 1994. Produced by First Choice Productions, Roughnecks ran for two series, with the final episode broadcasting on 21 December 1995. The series centres on the working and personal lives of the crew of the fictional oil rig "The Osprey Explorer" in the North Sea. Offshore filming was undertaken on the oil rig Dan Countess, which was not in use at the time.^[1]

Roughnecks
Genre	Drama
Created by	Kieran Prendiville
Written by	Kieran Prendiville Steve Coombes Bryan Elsley Dave Robinson Alan Whiting
Directed by	Sandy Johnson Aisling Walsh
Starring	Liam Cunningham George Rossi Francesca Hunt Bruce Jones John McGlynn James Cosmo Ashley Jensen Clive Russell Alec Westwood Teresa Banham Ricky Tomlinson Paul Copley Anne Raitt Colum Convey Hywel Simons Stuart Duncan
Composers	Mike Post Roger Neill
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer	Michael Wearing
Producers	Moira Williams Charles Elton
Production locations	Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Cinematography	Hubert Taczanowski John Daly
Editors	Bryan Oates Don Fairservice
Running time	50 minutes
Production company	First Choice Productions
Original release
Network	BBC1
Release	16 June 1994 (1994-06-16) – 21 December 1995 (1995-12-21)

The cast, included Liam Cunningham, Teresa Banham, James Cosmo, Bruce Jones, Clive Russell, Ricky Tomlinson, Paul Copley and Ashley Jensen. The main theme was written and composed by American television composer Mike Post.^[2] An official guide to the series, written by Tom McGregor and featuring interviews with the cast and crew, was published on 29 September 1995, prior to the broadcast of the second series.^[3] Neither series has been made available on DVD.

Cast

Cast listed as per order of credits in the opening title sequence

• Liam Cunningham as Chris Brennan
• George Rossi as Kevin Lamb
• Francesca Hunt as Hilary Whiteson
• Bruce Jones as Terry Morrell
• John McGlynn as Drew MacAllister
• James Cosmo as Tom Butcher
• Ashley Jensen as Heather Butcher (née Brennan)
• Clive Russell as Archie McGrandle
• Alec Westwood as Davey Rains
• Teresa Banham as Tessa Buckingham
• Ricky Tomlinson as Douglas "Cinders" Hudson
• Paul Copley as Ian Pollard
• Anne Raitt as Izzy Butcher
• Colum Convey as Graeme "Ceefax" Revell
• Hywel Simons as Wilf "Village" Granelle
• Katy Murphy as Cath (Series 2)
• Martin Wenner as Edvard Bergman (Series 2)
• John Kazek as Telegram Sam (Series 1)
• Bruce Jamieson as Burgess (series 1)

Episodes

Series 1 (1994)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate
1	"Episode 1"	Kieran Prendiville	Sandy Johnson	16 June 1994 (1994-06-16)
As the crew are flown across the North Sea to the hazardous world of an exploration rig, they are distressed to find that a colleague has died suddenly of a massive heart attack under mysterious circumstances. Meanwhile, a strike is threatened when a wallet goes missing.[4]
2	"Episode 2"	Kieran Prendiville	Sandy Johnson	23 June 1994 (1994-06-23)
Tessa, the new female mechanic, creates a stir on the rig and helps an oilman's widow to come to terms with her grief. Meanwhile, the stakes are high as a team from the Osprey Explorer challenge the crew of another rig to a quiz.[4]
3	"Episode 3"	Kieran Prendiville	Sandy Johnson	30 June 1994 (1994-06-30)
When they get shore leave, the crew of Osprey Explorer pick up the pieces of their private lives. Archie rushes to the hospital where his ex-wife has been taken after a car crash. Ian and Hilary have a great day walking in the Highlands but later face a problem over their relationship. Tom is worried because his daughter Heather is spending too much time with Chris – a playboy twice her age.[4]
4	"Episode 4"	Kieran Prendiville	Sandy Johnson	7 July 1994 (1994-07-07)
A journalist is flown on to the Osprey Explorer, putting Chris in the spotlight.[4]
5	"Episode 5"	Kieran Prendiville	Sandy Johnson	14 July 1994 (1994-07-14)
While Tom and Izzy's worse fears for Heather are realised, something is wrong on the Osprey.[4]
6	"Episode 6"	Kieran Prendiville	Sandy Johnson	21 July 1994 (1994-07-21)
Dawn breaks and the stunned survivors wait on Osprey for news of their missing mates. Someone is responsible for the accident and the fingers point at the driller. Why isn't Chris there to defend himself?[4]

Series 2 (1995)

Episode	Title	Written by	Directed by	Original airdate
1	"Episode 1"	Kieran Prendiville	Aisling Walsh	9 November 1995 (1995-11-09)
The crew return to the Osprey Explorer for the first time since their colleague Ian's death.[4]
2	"Episode 2"	Kieran Prendiville	Aisling Walsh	16 November 1995 (1995-11-16)
The crew are held at gunpoint in the coffee shack by a group of masked men. As tempers rise, Cinders is transformed into a reluctant hero.[4]
3	"Episode 3"	Steve Coombes & Dave Robinson	Aisling Walsh	23 November 1995 (1995-11-23)
There's an outbreak of gambling on the Osprey and a young steward soon finds himself addicted. Cinders, a reformed gambler, decides to teach him a lesson – but who pays dearest in the end?[4]
4	"Episode 4"	Steve Coombes & Dave Robinson	Aisling Walsh	30 November 1995 (1995-11-30)
Following a crane accident on the rig, Archie and Village must face a full-scale enquiry. Heather is quite taken with Chris's long-lost brother.[4]
5	"Episode 5"	Alan Whiting	Aisling Walsh	7 December 1995 (1995-12-07)
Pressure testing problems cause trouble on the Osprey and tension mounts when some of the crew are forced to take a five per cent pay cut. Cinders is furious and sparks are flying at Greenacres too, where Izzy walks out leaving Tom in charge of the boarding house.[4]
6	"Episode 6"	Alan Whiting	Ailsing Walsh	14 December 1995 (1995-12-14)
Love is in the air as the promise of romance touches several of the crew.[4]
7	"Episode 7"	Brian Elsley	Aisling Walsh	21 December 1995 (1995-12-21)
After an accident on the rig, work stops and the crew takes a break in Norway.[4]