Sky 1 takes to The Smoke

Sky 1 firefighting drama The Smoke has gone into production with a line up of actors ranging from such series as Shameless to Battlestar Galactica.

Jamie Bamber of Battlestar Galactica fame will lead the cast, alongside Broadchurch‘s Jodie Whittaker and Rhashan Stone  from Strike Back.

Written by Lucy Kirkwood, this eight part series follows the high-adrenaline adventures of White Watch, a team of London firefighters.

Leading the crew is Jamie as Kev a good man injured and betrayed during the worst fire of his career. Standing by Kev’s side as he returns to work is his gutsy girlfriend Trish played by Jodie and his cocksure friend and fellow firefighter Mal portrayed by Rhashan.

Other members of the crew include the hapless but charming Little Al (Gerard Kearns, Shameless), the fearless Ziggy (Pippa Bennett-Warner, Lewis) and the mysterious new boy Dennis (Taron Egerton, Lewis).

The Smoke is described by Sky as ‘a high octane, emotionally gripping, funny and occasionally outrageous ensemble drama about what it’s really like to be a firefighter in Britain today.’

‘And it’s tough trying to be a hero in a world that dismisses and disregards heroes. But whatever White Watch might go through, they are never beaten down, and they are always able to fall back on one another. As irreverent and emotionally charged as it is thrilling, you’ll never before have seen a show about firefighters quite like The Smoke.’

The Smoke is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% by 2014. There will undoubtedly be comparisons to London Weekend Television’s production of London’s Burning for ITV which ran from 1988 through to 2002. ITV tried a less successful firefighting series, Steel River Blues, set in the North East which aired for a single series in 2004.