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.[2]
Cast
Main
Jamie Bamber as Kev Allison, the leader of White Watch.
Jodie Whittaker as Trish Tooley, Kev's supportive girlfriend.
Rhashan Stone as Mal Milligan, a member of White Watch and Kev's best friend.
Taron Egerton as Dennis "Asbo" Severs, the rookie of White Watch with a troubled past.
Emotional wounds are reopened when Kev and Mal fall out after witnessing a tragic accident, paving the way for a threatening figure to get closer to Kev.
It's the morning after the night before and morale is low in White Watch as the team launch a risky rescue attempt. Kev discovers that Gog, a friend of fellow firefighter Asbo, was the thug responsible for his injuries and Little Al gets in over his head at a cage fight.
Things get very personal during a rescue when a secret of Ziggy's is exposed. The firefighters use a crane to rescue a very fat woman from her burning house. Meanwhile, Kev gets revenge on Gog by taking his pit bull to the dog pound and Trish shares some shocking news.
The animosity between Dennis (Asbo) and Mal reaches boiling point, which has explosive consequences during a rescue at a dilapidated building. Meanwhile Trish visits her daughter.
It's the one-year anniversary of the Churchill Estate fire and, while Dennis reaches breaking point, information comes to light that could lead Kev to the truth.
Following the Blackwall Tunnel explosion, Kev takes drastic measures to move on. Gog is subjected to an arson attack by Rosa, a mother whose baby was murdered by Gog in the first episode.
Reception
Sam Wollaston of The Guardian 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.'[3] Ellen E Jones of The Independent 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'.[4] Tom Rowley in The Telegraph found it full of familiar cliches, but found it showed promise.[5]The Times gave it four stars.[6]
As the series broadcast, the London Fire Brigade 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.[7]