Sarah Doole
The FremantleMedia director of global drama’s list is largely UK-focused, mixing hard-hitting drama with a healthy dose of comedy, while there’s also a space for some Nordic noir. When the Boat Comes In (BBC) This show is the reason I work in television. It aired when I was a teenager and I was obsessed with it. I’d watched every episode but just before the finale, my mum said we were going on holiday to Cornwall. So we all had to go on this family holiday and when we arrived, there was no TV in the cottage – and in those days you couldn’t record anything or watch via catch-up. I sulked for the whole holiday in the way only teenagers can and, in the end, my dad bought me a train ticket from Cornwall to our home in Derby so I could watch the final episode live. I loved the series – we’re looking at it for a possible remake. A lot of the themes of where socialism started and that idea of a working-class community still resonate today. It was beautifully written and very avant-garde at the time. And it had James Bolan in it! The Royle Family (BBC) I remember watching the pilot for this show when I was at Granada and I’d never seen anything like it – working-class humour straight to camera, like you’re eavesdropping on people, and with no laughter track. It was revolutionary. Writers Caroline Aherne, Craig Cash and Henry Normal were just geniuses. … Continue reading Sarah Doole
