''North Square'' is a British television drama series written and created by
Peter Moffat
Alexander Peter Moffat (born 2 June 1962) is a British playwright and screenwriter.
Early life
Moffat was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to John Laidlaw Moffat, who was in the Royal Military Police, and Norma Guthrie. His grandfather and great- ...
, and broadcast by
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 ...
from 18 October to 20 December 2000. Starring an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
, including
Phil Davis,
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones (born 22 September 1970) is a British actor, known for his performances as Adam Carter in '' Spooks'', Clive Reader in ''Silk'', DI Joseph Chandler in ''Whitechapel'', and Mr Quinlan in the American horror series ''The ...
,
Helen McCrory
Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbe ...
and
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' ...
, the programme is set around the practice of a barristers' chambers in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. The series was filmed in and around the real life
Park Square, Leeds
Park Square is a Georgian public square in central Leeds, West Yorkshire. The square is grassed over and is a traditional Georgian park. The square is in Leeds' financial quarter and is surrounded by Georgian buildings, which are occupied as of ...
. This is the area in the city where the majority of barristers' chambers are concentrated.
Despite gaining considerable critical acclaim, the show failed to garner a substantial audience resulting in only the one series of ten episodes being produced. In Australia, the series was broadcast in 2001 on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and repeated in 2004 after popular and critical acclaim. The full series was released on DVD for the first time by
Acorn Media UK on 5 March 2012.
Synopsis
''North Square'' is a British drama about a group of young, irreverent barristers all hoping to make their mark in the legal profession at a defence chambers in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, West Yorkshire. They are all under the leadership of their Machiavellian chief clerk Peter McLeish (
Phil Davis), who is clever and obsessed by work and doesn't appear to have a social life. He's struggling to make this new enterprise work and will do anything to make it succeed and beat his archrival, Michael Marlowe (Tony Monroe), from whom he left, taking the best barristers with him. He establishes relationships with the top criminals in Leeds so he can get their best cases. He is not above persuading a client to offer a plea, not because it's in their best interests but because he doesn't want to miss out on a bigger case coming up.
Early in the series, Rose (
Helen McCrory
Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbe ...
) and Billy (
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' ...
) give birth to a baby boy and Rose comes back to work four days later. Billy is on an assault charge for defending Wendy De Souza (
Kim Vithana
Kim Vithana (born 4 June 1970) is a British actress.
She had acted in television serials '' Family Pride'', '' Specials'' and '' Firm Friends'' when the filmmaker Gurinder Chadha took her in ''Bhaji on the Beach'' to play the role of Ginder, a ...
), their head of chambers, whom another barrister, Leo Wilson (who works for Marlowe's chambers), claimed only got to her position because of her skin colour and is suspended but then cleared. However, Marlowe continues to ask Billy to come back to his chambers which he refuses to do and he instructs the case to go to trial. Morag Black (
Ruth Millar
Ruth Laura Millar (born in 1975 Newton Mearns, near Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actress, writer and producer.
Early years
She spent her early years in Glasgow before attending Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design where she gra ...
) is a new pupil at chambers, taken under the wing of Rose, and is used as a scapegoat to represent cases for Peter while he gives more high-profile cases to other barristers. Johnny Boy (
James Murray) begins a relationship with Morag, however, Peter is against the relationship and instructs them both to end it. Later on, Hussein Ali (Robert Mountford), another pupil, also joins chambers under the guidance of Tom Mitford (
Dominic Rowan
Dominic Rowan (born 17 June 1971) is an English television, film and theatre actor. He played CPS prosecutor Jacob Thorne in the ITV crime drama '' Law and Order: UK'' and Tom Mitford in the Channel 4 drama series ''North Square''. Rowan has a ...
), yet there is only one new place in chambers available. Peter supports Hussein as he believes he will bring in business because he's a British Asian. At the end of the series the decision of who should stay in chambers goes to Hussein, however Peter tells Morag that she can "squat" in their chambers.
Alex Hay (
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones (born 22 September 1970) is a British actor, known for his performances as Adam Carter in '' Spooks'', Clive Reader in ''Silk'', DI Joseph Chandler in ''Whitechapel'', and Mr Quinlan in the American horror series ''The ...
), the golden boy of Peter McLeish, is a smooth, good-looking barrister with a city centre apartment and a relationship with Dr. Helen Ferryhough (
Victoria Smurfit
Victoria Smurfit (born 31 March 1974) is an Irish actress. She is known for playing Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series ''Ballykissangel'', Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural ''Trial & Retribution'' and ...
). But Peter is working with solicitor Stevie Goode (
Sasha Behar
Sasha Behar (born 25 September 1971) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Maya Sharma in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''.
Career
Behar portrayed the character of villain Maya Sharma in the ITV soap opera '' Coro ...
), who can bring business to chambers away from Marlowe, and believes Helen is not strong enough for Alex so pushes Stevie and Alex together for the good of chambers. They embark on an affair, unaware that Peter is pulling the strings; using their relationship to secure big clients from Stevie. After a tip-off from Peter to Helen, she and Alex split up and Helen embarks on a relationship with Tom Mitford. At the end of the series, Alex begs Helen to come back to him and it is unknown whether Helen leaves Tom for Alex. John is the nephew of Peter McLeish and starts work as a trainee at chambers but due to the confusion of his name with his colleague, Johnny Boy, Peter tells him that he is now known as Bob to the rest of chambers. No one except Johnny Boy knows of their kinship, Peter admitting he has been installed "as his eyes and ears" of chambers.
Throughout the series there is an underlying story of Wendy De Souza, who happens to be having an affair with Judge Martin Bould, applying to be
QC. She does not succeed in getting the position. Marlowe finds out about the affair and asks Billy to confirm it, stating that if he does the trial will be dropped. Billy confirms this to Marlowe which results in the trial being dropped but Peter is suspicious as to why. He eventually learns from Billy about his admission and advises Judge Martin to end his affair with Wendy De Souza. Billy tells Rose about what he has done and she is in despair about how Peter is controlling everybody's personal lives, how Wendy was betrayed and why Billy would go to Peter and not her. Plus, she is against Peter's dealings with criminals to secure work. At the same time, Alex learns from Helen that it was Peter who told her about his affair with Stevie. At this point, Rose lobbies the team to have Peter removed but in the end she gets no support and decides to leave chambers. However, Peter asks her to do one more case; represent his son, whom he has had no dealings with for 18 years, on a drugs charge. She manages to secure a "Not Guilty" verdict. At the end of the last episode, Rose walks back into chambers as the rest of the team are celebrating their one-year anniversary as a chambers.
Cast
*
Phil Davis - Peter McLeish
*
Helen McCrory
Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Macbe ...
- Rose Fitzgerald
*
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' ...
- Billy Guthrie
*
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones (born 22 September 1970) is a British actor, known for his performances as Adam Carter in '' Spooks'', Clive Reader in ''Silk'', DI Joseph Chandler in ''Whitechapel'', and Mr Quinlan in the American horror series ''The ...
- Alex Hay
*
Kim Vithana
Kim Vithana (born 4 June 1970) is a British actress.
She had acted in television serials '' Family Pride'', '' Specials'' and '' Firm Friends'' when the filmmaker Gurinder Chadha took her in ''Bhaji on the Beach'' to play the role of Ginder, a ...
- Wendy De Souza
*
Sasha Behar
Sasha Behar (born 25 September 1971) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Maya Sharma in the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''.
Career
Behar portrayed the character of villain Maya Sharma in the ITV soap opera '' Coro ...
– Stevie Goode
*
Ruth Millar
Ruth Laura Millar (born in 1975 Newton Mearns, near Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actress, writer and producer.
Early years
She spent her early years in Glasgow before attending Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design where she gra ...
– Morag Black
*
Dominic Rowan
Dominic Rowan (born 17 June 1971) is an English television, film and theatre actor. He played CPS prosecutor Jacob Thorne in the ITV crime drama '' Law and Order: UK'' and Tom Mitford in the Channel 4 drama series ''North Square''. Rowan has a ...
– Tom Mitford
*
James Murray – Johnny Boy
* James Midgeley – John "Bob" Mayfield
*
Victoria Smurfit
Victoria Smurfit (born 31 March 1974) is an Irish actress. She is known for playing Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series ''Ballykissangel'', Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural ''Trial & Retribution'' and ...
– Dr. Helen Ferryhough
* Robert Mountford – Hussein Ali
* Tony Monroe – Michael Marlowe
*
Murray Head
Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a mus ...
– Judge Martin Bould
* Jack Fortune – Leo Wilson
Episode list
Awards
*
BAFTA Television Awards
The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955.
Background
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
2001 – Best Editing (Fiction/Entertainment) – Jon Costelloe
*
Broadcasting Press Guild Award
The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) is a British association of journalists dedicated to the topic of general media issues.
History
The Guild was established in 1974 as a breakaway of The Critics' Circle. Currently it groups over 100 staff and fr ...
s 2001
:* Best Drama Series/Serial
:* Best Actor Phil Davis
:* Best Actress Helen McCrory
:* Writer's Award Peter Moffat (shared with
Simon Schama
Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.
He fir ...
for ''
A History of Britain'')
Davis was also nominated for Best Actor at the 2001
Royal Television Society Award
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
s.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, id=0267201, title=North Square
Interview with Phil Davies at channel4.com
2000 British television series debuts
2000 British television series endings
2000s British drama television series
2000s British legal television series
Channel 4 original programming
English-language television shows
Television shows set in Leeds