''The Runaway'' is a six-part

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

series, adapted by Allan Cubitt from the novel by

Martina Cole Eilidh Martina Cole is a British crime writer. she has released twenty-six novels about crime, most of which examine London's gangster underworld. Four of her novels, ''Dangerous Lady'', '' The Jump'', '' The Take'' and '' The Runaway'' have be ...

, that first broadcast on Sky1 on 31 March 2011. Directed by David Richards, ''The Runaway'' is set in the sleazy, gritty world of '60s and '70s

London 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 ...

, and focuses on the doomed romance of East Londoners Cathy Connor (

Joanna Vanderham Joanna Vanderham (born 17 October 1990) is a Scottish actress. She was nominated for an International Emmy Award for her debut role in the Sky One crime drama '' The Runaway'' (2011). Early life Vanderham was born in Perth and grew up in Scon ...

) and Eamonn Docherty (

Jack O'Connell Jack O'Connell may refer to: * Jack O'Connell (actor) (born 1990), English actor * Jack O'Connell (Australian politician) (1903–1972), member of the Victorian Legislative Council * Jack O'Connell (diplomat) (1921–2010), American diplomat and C ...

). The series also co-stars

Burn Gorman Burn Hugh Winchester Gorman (born 1 September 1974) is an English actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Owen Harper in the BBC series ''Torchwood'' (2006–2008), Phillip Stryver in ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), Karl Tanner in the ...

, Keith Allen and

Kierston Wareing Kierston Wareing (born 7 January 1976) is a British actress. Her first film role was the lead in Ken Loach's '' It's a Free World...'', followed by a supporting role in Andrea Arnold's ''Fish Tank'' – which won the BAFTA award for ‘Best Bri ...

among others. Principal shooting on the series took place in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, which doubled up for 1960s

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

. Original music for the series was written by

Chris Letcher Chris Letcher is a South African singer-songwriter and film composer based in London and Johannesburg. He has played with Urban Creep. Two of his albums made South Africa's ''Mail & Guardian'' "20 Best CDs of the Decade by South African Artists" ...

, alongside Ben Bartlett. ''The Runaway'' was the second of Cole's novels to be adapted by Company Pictures for Sky, following on from '' The Take'', starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley, that first broadcast in 2009. The complete series of ''The Runaway'' was released on DVD via ITV Studios on 9 May 2011.

Reception

Patrick Smith of ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' said of the first episode; "

's crime novels aren't for the faint-hearted: they are gritty, lurid and relentlessly brutal. It's no surprise, then, that the opening episode of ''The Runaway'' made for uncomfortable viewing. Although one moment captured this transformation perfectly, the rest of the episode wasn’t nearly as gripping. The central storyline was hackneyed, while Keith Allen, sporting a horrendous wig, sounded – irritatingly – as if he was channelling

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...

. I was a little disappointed with

, too. He wasn't bad. It's just that, having watched him play Cook in '' Skins'' with such élan, I was expecting a tour de force." ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

'' published a slightly more positive review, writing: "Despite the ''Lock Stock'' clichés that lurked at every turn, ''The Runaway'' had me running with it. Opening with a knockout boxing scene straight out of Raging Bull, ''The Runaway ''had a sweaty, salty tang about it, an intensity that overcame the fact it staggered about, drunk on its own testosterone."

Plot

While unrelated by blood, Cathy Connor and Eamonn Docherty live as brother and sister growing up and embark on a secret relationship. The couple are torn apart when Cathy is sent into care, but she manages to escape and finds her way onto the streets of Soho. Befriended by colourful transvestite Desrae, Cathy grows up in the heart of London's underworld, while Eamonn is drawn into a life of crime and ultimately flees to New York. The pair are finally drawn back together in the midst of the nation's impending future, but their future is far from safe.

Cast

as Eamonn Docherty Jnr. *

as Cathy Connor *

as Richard Gates * Keith Allen as Danny Dixon *

as Madge * Alan Cumming as Desrae *

Sam Spruell Sam Spruell (born 1 January 1977) is a British actor. He is best known for playing villainous roles in film and television including Oleg Malankov in '' Taken 3'', Finn in '' Snow White and the Huntsman'' and Swarm in '' Doctor Who: Flux''. He a ...

as Jim Harvey *

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed th ...

as Joey Pasqualino *

Mark Womack Mark Edward Womack (born 9 January 1961) is an English actor, known for starring in '' Liverpool 1'', '' Sorted'' and Willy Russell's ''Dancin thru' The Dark''. In 2020, he appeared in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' as DI Mark Malone. Person ...

as Eamonn Docherty Snr. *

Nora-Jane Noone Nora-Jane Noone (born 8 March 1984) is an Irish actress. In 2020, ''The Irish Times'' ranked her 47th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time. She made her screen debut in the drama film ''The Magdalene Sisters'' (2002) and h ...

as Caitlin *

Max Irons Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English-Irish actor and model. He is known for his roles in films such as ''Red Riding Hood'' (2011), '' The White Queen'' (2013), '' The Host'' (2013), '' Woman in Gold'' (2014), ''Th ...

as Tommy Pasqualino * Emily Beecham as Caroline Dixon * Dominika Jablonska as Maureen * Grant Swanby as Sean Carty *

David Westhead David William Logan Westhead (born 1 June 1963) is an English actor. Early life Westhead was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. He studied drama at Bristol University before going on to RADA, from where he graduated in 1987, after which he joine ...

as Ron Carver

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Runaway, The Sky UK original programming 2010s British television miniseries 2010s British drama television series 2011 British television series debuts 2011 British television series endings Television series by All3Media English-language television shows