''Rockface'' is a British television drama series, principally written and created by Nicholas Hicks-Beach and Shelley Miller, that first broadcast on

BBC One 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, p ...

on 13 March 2002. The series, set in Glenntannoch, a fictitious town in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

, centres on a

mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

team led by Dr. Gordon Urquhart (

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 ...

). The major rescues and incidents featured within the series were based upon real life rescues conducted by the Lochaber Mountain Rescue service.BBC Drama: Rockface
British Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. Prior to filming, the cast underwent training to gather knowledge of the skills required to become a real-life mountain rescue team, under the guidance of trainer Mick Tighe. ''Rockface'' ran for two series; the first series of six episodes broadcasting in 2002 on Wednesday evenings; with a second series of eight episodes following in 2003 on Sunday evenings. Strong critical reception and reasonable viewing figures lead to a second series being commissioned before the first had finished broadcasting. The final episode was broadcast on 27 July 2003. Notably, despite being listed for release, the series has never been made available on DVD. An interactive website, including games based upon the series as well as cast profiles and computer wallpapers and screensavers, was launched online shortly before the series' television debut.

Production

Prior to filming, the cast undertook several days of mountain rescue training, under the guidance of trainer Mick Tighe. Tighe said of the cast; "Getting raw recruits is not alien to me, but they did very well, I was very impressed with them."

commented; "All of us who underwent that training together developed a really strong bond. What we learned about ourselves and each other will never go away." Cal MacAninch added; "Mick put us all through our paces. His military background was familiar to me through the work I did filming ''

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

'', so I was used to that attitude and sense of humour. I loved his drive and his determination was very inspiring – even when he picked on me as I struggled up a hill. What he taught us all was to keep going and stop moaning – that has helped me in everything I do – especially on film sets." Real-life Search and Rescue helicopters and crew were used for external shots. Crew and helicopters from the Royal Navy's HMS GANNET Search and Rescue Flight based at Prestwick airport, Ayrshire. On a number of occasions, filming of certain sequences were interrupted by the aircraft being called away on real "shouts".

Cast

as Dr Gordon Urquhart *

Brendan Coyle David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert T ...

as Douglas McLanaghan * Cal MacAninch as Ben Craig * Richard Graham as Mike Bayliss * Zoë Eeles as Annie Craig *

Melanie Gutteridge Melanie Gutteridge is an English actress, best known for playing PC Emma Keane in ''The Bill''. She made two appearances in ''Not Going Out'' playing Amy. Biography Gutteridge was born in Waltham Forest, Essex, and studied at the Webber Douglas A ...

as Caroline Morrison *

Jamie Sives Jamie Sives ( ; born 14 August 1973) is a Scottish actor. Sives was born in Lochend, Edinburgh. He studied at Leith Academy and worked as a scaffolder, as a postman, and as a club doorman in Edinburgh before turning to acting full-time. In 2 ...

as PC Peter Craig *

Rupert Evans Rupert Evans (born 9 March 1977) is a British actor. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in the Amazon series '' The Man in the High Castle'' and also in the CW's '' Charmed'' series. In 2021 Evans appeared in '' Bridge ...

as Jamie Doughan * Kenneth Bryans as Danny Tunick * Louise Goodall as WPC Betty Farinelli *

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 ...

as Nurse Helen *

Jan Harvey Jan Harvey (born 1 June 1947) is a British actress. She is known for her regular television roles in '' Howards' Way'' (1985–1990), '' Bugs'' (1997–1999), and ''Family Affairs'' (2003–2005). Career Harvey is best known as Jan Howard in th ...

as Dr. Jane Chamberlain *

Barbara Rafferty Barbara Rafferty (born 15 January 1950 in Clydebank), is a Scottish actress. Credited as Barbara Ann Brown in her early acting career. She is known for her roles as Ella Cotter in the long-running BBC Two sitcom ''Rab C Nesbitt'', then firstly ...

as Alice Urquhart

Episodes

Series 1 (2002)

Series 2 (2003)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockface (Tv Series) BBC Scotland television shows BBC television dramas Television shows set in Scotland 2000s British drama television series 2002 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings Television series by Sony Pictures Television English-language television shows