''The Smoke'' is a

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

firefighter television

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

that debuted on

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989 ...

on 20 February 2014. The series was created and written by

Lucy Kirkwood Lucy Ann Kirkwood (born ) is a British playwright and screenwriter. She is known for her plays '' Chimerica'' (2013) and '' The Children'' (2016). Early life and education Kirkwood was born in Leytonstone around 1984 and raised in east Londo ...

and stars

Jamie Bamber Jamie St John Bamber Griffith (born 1972/73), known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in ''Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series), Battlestar Galactica'' and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in t ...

Taron Egerton Taron Egerton ( ; born 10 November 1989) is a Welsh actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he performed in stage plays before gaining recognition for his starring role as a spy in the action comedy films '' Kingsman: Th ...

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

and

Rhashan Stone Rhashan Stone (born November 3, 1969) is an American-born British actor and comedian based in the UK. He has had main roles in series such as ''Bodies'' (2004–2005), ''Mutual Friends'' (2008), '' Strike Back'' (2010–2012), ''The Smoke'' (201 ...

. The show was cancelled after one series.

Plot

The series describes the high-adrenaline adventures of White Watch, a team of London firefighters. Leading the crew is 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 and his cocksure friend and fellow firefighter Mal. Other members of the crew include the fearless Ziggy and the mysterious new boy Dennis.

Cast

Main

as Kev Allison, the leader of White Watch. *

as Trish Tooley, Kev's supportive girlfriend. *

as Mal Milligan, a member of White Watch and Kev's best friend. *

as Dennis "Asbo" Severs, the rookie of White Watch with a troubled past. *

Pippa Bennett-Warner Philippa Elaine Fanti Bennett-Warner (born 23 July 1988) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress, playing young Nala in the original West End production of ''The Lion King'' (1999). She went on to earn WhatsOnStage and Ian ...

as Ziggy Brown, a member of White Watch. *

Gerard Kearns Gerard Kearns (born 4 October 1984) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ian Gallagher in the British version of the comedy-drama series ''Shameless (British TV series), Shameless''. Career Kearns starred in the film ''The Mark ...

as Little Al, a member of White Watch. *

Dorian Lough Dorian Tristan Lough (born 27 April 1966 in Kensington, London) is an English actor who played DS Dave Satchell in ''Trial & Retribution'' (1997-2009). He has also played Ray Taylor in ''EastEnders'' (1996-2005). Other credits include ''Notting ...

as Billy "Mince", a member of White Watch. *David Walmsley as Rob, a member of White Watch. *Martyn Ellis as Big Al, station manager.

Recurring

*Amit Shah as Nick Chandrakala, White Watch Commander. *Sam Gittins as Gog, the one responsible for Kev's accident. *

Sinead Matthews Sinead Matthews (born ) is an English actress whose credits include film, television, radio and stage. As well as having extensive theatre experience, her screen credits include '' He Knew He Was Right'' (2004), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), '' Pride ...

as Julia Tooley, Trish's sister. *

Elizabeth Berrington Elizabeth Berrington (born 3 August 1970) is an English actress and graduate of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art; she is best known for her roles as Ruby Fry in '' Waterloo Road'', Paula Kosh in '' Stella'', Mel Debrou in '' Moving Wa ...

as Pauline Pynchon, a therapist.

Episodes

Reception

Sam Wollaston of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' was positive, remarking the first episode, 'crackles along with a tidy script and some nice performances, though it's really more about plot than getting inside the souls of its characters.' Ellen E Jones of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' was also positive, remarking that, 'The script by fêted young playwright Lucy Kirkwood was also full of warm moments of the non-third-degree-burn-causing kind, like a raucous sing-a-long to Adele's "Someone Like You" in the back of the fire engine'. Tom Rowley in ''

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

'' found it full of familiar cliches, but found it showed promise. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' gave it four stars. As the series broadcast, the

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the Fire department, fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 90), under the leadership of superintendent ...

used social media to send out fire safety tips and encouraged members of the public to tweet or post on Facebook their own fire escape plans.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smoke, The 2010s British drama television series 2014 British television series debuts 2014 British television series endings British English-language television shows Television shows set in London Television series by Banijay Television series about firefighting Sky UK television dramas Television shows written by Lucy Kirkwood