''Roughnecks'' is a British television drama series, created and principally written by former ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'' presenter

Kieran Prendiville Kieran Prendiville (born 25 December 1947) is an English-Irish television writer, producer, and presenter. Early life Prendiville was born on 25 December 1947 in Rochdale, Lancashire, the son of an Irish father from Killorglin, County Kerry, w ...

, that first broadcast on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

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 {{about, , the mnemonic OIL RIG, Redox An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling. Kinds of oil rig include: * Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling * Drillship, a floating apparatus for offshore oil drilling * ...

"The Osprey Explorer" in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. Offshore filming was undertaken on the oil rig ''Dan Countess'', which was not in use at the time. The series boasted a high calibre cast, including the likes of

Liam Cunningham Liam Cunningham (born 2 June 1961) is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. Cunningham has been nominated for the London Film Critics' Circle Award, the British Independent ...

Teresa Banham Teresa Banham, also known and credited as Theresa Banham (born 1964) is a British television and theatre actress perhaps best known for playing the role of the Broadfell Prison Governor in the first part of the '' Doctor Who'' Christmas special, ...

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including '' Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', ''Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...

, Bruce Jones,

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He also a ...

Ricky Tomlinson Eric "Ricky" Tomlinson (born 26 September 1939) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Bobby Grant in '' Brookside'', DCI Charlie Wise in ''Cracker'' and Jim Royle in '' The Royle Family'', and playing the titular cha ...

Paul Copley Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV soa ...

and

Ashley Jensen Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the television series '' Extras'', in which she appeared from 2005 to 2007. She was a cast member of the ABC series '' Ugly ...

. Notably for a British television series, the main theme was written and composed by renowned American television composer

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...

. 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. Neither series has been made available on DVD.

Cast

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

as Chris Brennan *

George Rossi George Rossi (28 September 1961 – 5 January 2022) was a Scottish actor, best known for playing Duncan Lennox in ''The Bill'' from 1998 to 2003. Early life and education Rossi was born in Govan, Glasgow, on 28 September 1961. He was of Itali ...

as Kevin Lamb * Francesca Hunt as Hilary Whiteson * Bruce Jones as Terry Morrell *

John McGlynn John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as Drew MacAllister *

as Tom Butcher *

as Heather Butcher (née Brennan) *

as Archie McGrandle * Alec Westwood as Davey Rains *

as Tessa Buckingham *

as Douglas "Cinders" Hudson *

as Ian Pollard * Anne Raitt as Izzy Butcher * Colum Convey as Graeme "Ceefax" Revell *

Hywel Simons Hywel Simons (born 10 February 1970) is a British actor from Neath, Wales. Born in Neath, he was brought up in Porthcawl. He started acting while a pupil at Porthcawl Comprehensive School, before he went on to study at LAMDA. Simons first T ...

as Wilf "Village" Granelle *

Katy Murphy Katy Murphy (born 8 December 1962) is a Scottish actress and teacher who has appeared in many television programs, most of them for the BBC and ITV. While most associated with television drama, she has worked across a variety of genres, includin ...

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)

Series 2 (1995)

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0108910, title=Roughnecks BBC television dramas 1994 British television series debuts 1995 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series Television shows set in Scotland English-language television shows