''London Bridge'' is a British

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

made by

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for

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

and shown in the

London region London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, as well as a few other ITV regions, including

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and

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. ''London Bridge'' revolved around a restaurant, SE1, and the neighbouring block of flats. It ran from 15 February 1996 to 31 March 1999. It featured many actors who have gone on to star in bigger TV shows, including '' Bad Girls'' actresses

Simone Lahbib Simone Nicole Jean Lahbib Ould Cheikl (; born 6 February 1965) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles as Helen Stewart in the ITV drama series '' Bad Girls'', DCI Alex Fielding in the ITV crime series ''Wire in the Blood'' and Katy L ...

and

Mandana Jones Mandana Jones is an Anglo-Iranian actress best known for her role as prisoner Nikki Wade on the British television series, '' Bad Girls''. Biography Mandana Jones was born on 26 February 1967 to a Welsh father and an Iranian mother. She is th ...

and ''

No Angels No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season of th ...

'' star

Sunetra Sarker Sunetra Sarker (born 25 June 1973) is an English actress and presenter, known for her roles as Nisha Batra in ''Brookside'', Anji Mittel in ''No Angels'', Zoe Hanna in ''Casualty'' and Kaneez Paracha in ''Ackley Bridge''. In 2014, she took pa ...

Broadcast

It started out as a late-night drama which ran for 26 episodes in 1996, before returning as a twice-weekly soap opera later that year. It was not as popular as other British soaps due to only being shown regionally, although did on many occasions beat rival soap ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'' shown on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. The show was axed in 1999. As of February 2015, the show started a repeat run on local TV channel London Live.

Characters

Major characters included: * Nick Kemp (

Oliver Haden Oliver Haden is a British actor best known for his role in British film '' Blue Ice''. He also worked at the Langley Academy as deputy-head teacher and teachers 6th form Drama. In 2004 he starred in the British film '' A Way of Life'', directed ...

), the head chef and part-owner of SE1, a cockney with a violent temper and criminal connections * Isobel 'Bel' Kemp (Nicola King S1/Sally Edwards S2-4), Nick's wife, a middle-class accountant and part-owner of SE1 * Liz Kemp (

Rosalind March Rosalind March is a British people, British TV, film and Theatre, stage actress. Born in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, March began her career in 1979, when she played Madge in several episodes of the series ''The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing ...

), Nick's sister and manager of SE1, a sarcastic woman who doesn't suffer fools gladly * Jed Kemp (Sean Francis), Liz's son who works behind the bar at SE1 and drives a mini cab * Mary O'Connor (

), a resident of the flats who is raped and later has an affair with Nick * Ravi Shah (

Ayub Khan-Din Ayub Khan Din (born 1961) is a British writer and actor. He wrote the BAFTA, BIFA and London Film Critics Circle award-winning film '' East Is East'' (1999), adapted from his 1996 Olivier-nominated play of the same name. His 2008 comedy play ...

), a lawyer and resident of the flats * Sam Haynes (

), Ravi's doctor girlfriend and later wife * Anthony 'Ant' Webster (Charles Simpson), Ravi's landlord and best friend who develops romantic feelings for Sam * Claire Turner (Jo-Anne Stockham), the mother of Ant's daughter Elizabeth * Cliff Lewis (Billy Geraghty), Nick's childhood friend and a chef at SE1 * Sid Kemp (Desmond Jordan), uncle of Nick and Liz * Nancy Parker (

Annabel Leventon Annabel Leventon (born 20 April 1942 in Hertfordshire, England) is an English actress who has acted in various roles on stage and television. While reading English at the University of Oxford she made several appearances at the Oxford Playhouse ...

), Sid's ex-wife and Cliff's mother

Storylines

In its late-night format the show featured a gritty storyline involving newcomer Mary O'Connor (

) being raped by a stalker. On becoming twice-weekly the soap introduced Cliff Lewis (Billy Geraghty) as Nick's former friend and the link to Nick's mysterious past. It was revealed that Nick and Cliff had been involved in an armed robbery together which had left a man dead. When Nick was murdered by being locked in the fridge at SE1, Cliff was the prime suspect. Cliff eventually told Nick's wife Isobel that he had seen her kill Nick and they embarked on a relationship. Isobel was eventually put on trial for Nick's murder, but was acquitted after the jury heard about the violence Nick had inflicted on her.

Location

Despite the title and ostensibly being set on the South Bank, the series was in fact filmed in and around

3 Mills Studios 3 Mills Studios is a centre for film, television and theatre production near Stratford, London, Stratford in East London. The site of a former distillery in Three Mills became a dedicated centre for television and film production work with the est ...

in Bow, east London (which also features prominently in the titles and end credits).

DVD releases

''London Bridge Volume One'', featuring the first 13 episodes, was released on DVD by Network on 14 November 2011. Volume Two was due to be released by Network in the summer of 2013, but as of 1 September 2015 it has not yet been released.

External links

* {{Soap operas in the United Kingdom 1996 British television series debuts 1999 British television series endings 1990s British television soap operas British television soap operas Carlton Television ITV soap operas Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in London English-language television shows