London's Burning is a British television drama programme, produced by LWT for the ITV network. It was based on the 1986 TV movie of the same name, and focused on the lives of members of the London Fire Brigade, principally those of the Blue Watch, at the fictional Blackwall fire station. It began with the movie (pilot), broadcast on 7 December 1986. This was then followed by a total of 14 series, which ran from 20 February 1988 to 25 August 2002.

By 2002, it was one of ITV's longest running TV programmes, after Coronation Street, Emmerdale, The Bill and Heartbeat.

Movie Jack Rosenthal's original two-hour TV movie, directed by Les Blair, was broadcast on ITV on 7 December 1986. The Broadwater Farm riot, in north London, was one inspiration for the screenplay. Unlike the final years of the London's Burning TV series, the movie (along with the following early TV series), was a black comedy that also examined serious issues, primarily that while female and Black, Asian and minority ethnic firefighters had to deal with prejudice on the job, the prejudices in their own families and neighbourhoods could be far worse.

The series

Series 1–3 (1988–1990) The TV show was a weekly episodic drama that began on 20 February 1988. Paul Knight was the show's producer. Knight appointed writers such as Anita Bronson, David Humphries, Simon Sharkey, and Tony Hoare. Directors included Gerry Poulson, Gerry Mill, John Reardon, Keith Washington and Alan Wareing. The camera crews had to be committed and cautious when working with fire. Emergencies—or 'shouts'—would not only be fires, but included a range of incidents from cats up trees to major road accidents. Each episode ran for 50 minutes (one hour with advertisement breaks). The first series (1988) consisted of five episodes while the second series (1989) and the third series (1990) consisted of eight episodes. These series episodes were mostly filmed at Dockhead fire station in Bermondsey in London, and used actual firefighters working shifts as extras for the programme. A studio near the station was used for crowded mess scenes, but they also used the fire station's actual mess, bay and watchroom throughout the series.

'Ding Dong Merrily' Christmas special A Christmas special was transmitted between series 1 and series 2 on 25 December 1988, on ITV. The special followed Blue Watch on duty on Christmas Day.

'Stunts and Stars' documentary A special 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, which originally aired on 8 September 1991, marked the launch of the fourth series. This documentary was also released onto VHS video, by Clear Vision Video. It was then added as a DVD extra, on the Series 4 DVD release by Network.

Series 4 (1991) In 1991, LWT commissioned 10 episodes for Series 4, which became the most popular series of the drama. Paul Knight had appointed Brian Clark as the Fire Brigade Advisor and, along with the writers and directors, he decided on a climax to the fourth series. The psychological state of one of the main characters deteriorates after being buried alive under a collapsed wall whilst at a spectacular 20-pump warehouse fire. Series 4's climax won the programme its record rating of 18.86 million viewers.Source: British Film Institute

Series 5 (1992) Each series now included a major disaster or "shout". In Episode 1 of Series 5 (1992), the drive mechanism of a Ferris wheel ride at a fairground is jammed by a troublesome youth (played by Liam McGuire) armed with an iron bar. The ride collapses into the electrical roof of a bumper car ride, which sparks fuel tanks resulting in a huge fire whilst people are trapped in the crushed metal. The series attracted 17 million viewers.

Series 6–9 (1993–1996) In the early 1990s, the ratings averaged 17–18 million viewers. In 1995 (Series 8), ratings fell to 16 million viewers.

Paul Knight decided it was time for a real shock—a tragic exit for one of the main characters, who had starred in the show for nearly ten years. The man who was to be killed was Sub Officer John Hallam—a dedicated and loyal member of the watch and the London Fire Brigade. Hallam was killed off in 1996 (Series 9) during a huge warehouse fire, where he and a colleague, Leading Firefighter Geoff Pearce, were attempting to rescue four teenage girls on an unstable gantry above a blaze in the basement. Hallam held the gantry steady for Pearce as he walked across with one of the girls. As Hallam attempted to cross, the gantry cracked and Hallam fell to his death. The writers developed a storyline about Pearce feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt after the accident, which would lead to him considering a transfer. Series 9 attracted 16.8 million viewers. Series 9 ended on a cliffhanger when two Dennis RS Fire Appliances crashed whilst rushing to a shout.

Series 10 (1997)

Series 10 was the last series produced by Paul Knight, who left to produce episodes of The Knock. Budget cuts led to a small number of scenes being done with computer-generated imagery. Notable 'shouts' included ones at a paint factory and another at a bus depot. With 18 episodes this was the longest series of the show.

Series 10 would also see the arrival of the Volvo FL appliances to the show.

Series 11–14 (1998–2002) London's Burning continued on into 1998 with a new producer, David Shanks (later David Newcombe). Series 11, 12 and 13 saw the return to firefighting scenes as the primary focus. Series 14, however, was almost completely based on soap opera-style story lines, with the number of fire 'shouts' severely reduced. Series 14 completely ignored the new rank structure of the LFB that was introduced at the start of series 13; also some old characters had left, with new ones added, with no explanation – confusing matters for the viewer. Viewing figures slumped drastically and the series was critically panned. In 2002 London's Burning was cut from the schedule; the final episode was broadcast on 25 August 2002 in a two-hour slot. The replacement show, Steel River Blues, bombed in the ratings, and was axed after just one series.

'Duty Log' video special In 2000 a 90-minute behind-the-scenes special was released on VHS video.

Theme music The London's Burning theme used between series 1 and series 10 was composed by Simon Brint, Rowland Rivron, and Roddy Matthews; it was loosely based on the children's round of the same title (sung by a group of schoolchildren in the pilot film.) Series 11–13 used a theme composed by Warren Bennett (son of The Shadows drummer Brian Bennett); revamped opening titles created by Capital FX were introduced. The theme tune and opening titles were updated again for Series 14. The titles were made to fit the look ITV were giving to shows at the time. The series 14 theme was composed by Stuart Hancock and Toby Jarvis. Hancock also composed the original incidental music score to all episodes of series 14.

Opening titles Series 1–10 lacked a title sequence; the episodes opened with the text "London's Burning" in bold capitals superimposed in white over the opening scene of the episode. Series 11–13 used a montage of action shots superimposed over a fiery background as the text "London's Burning" superimposed in gold and black slowly grew in size over the course of the sequence before quickly zooming to most of the length of the screen on the final musical flourish. Series 14 used a shorter montage of action and character shots before the text "london's burning" in orange and white appeared and moved closer together over a shot of fire engines emerging from the station that blurred out.

Characters

Station Officers Sidney Tate (James Marcus; movie, series 1–3) (also Temporary Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO)) – Tate was a fatherly figure for the watch. He was married to Nancy (a LFB control officer) and their only child had died years earlier. They occasionally fostered a disabled child, Paul, from a local foster home at Christmas, ultimately adopting him. Having been in the brigade for many years, he saw himself as old-fashioned and was sometimes at odds with modern regulations. The new ADO, Scase, did not approve of Tate's more pragmatic methods, especially when Tate defied his orders at a 'shout'. Tate was generally quiet and steady: he built matchstick models during down time (especially one of Alexandra Palace, which LFB had failed to save in one of the worst London fires in modern history), put HP Sauce on virtually all of his food, and was more than a bit rattled by having a woman assigned to his station. However, Tate was capable of old-fashioned discipline: a prank against Josie, and a fistfight between Malcolm and George, both garnered volcanic eruptions. Tate was forced to retire from the service at the end of series 3 after failing a routine medical. Although the character never appeared again, Tate was referred to a few times in the subsequent series, particularly by Sicknote and Bayleaf, who wondered what he would make of the progress the brigade was making. His replacement, SO Georgiadis, even once remarked: "I am not 'Good Old Uncle Sid'!" Nick 'Zorba' Georgiadis (Andrew Kazamia; series 4–11) (also Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO)). Nick took over from Tate as Station Officer in Series 4. He got his nickname due to his Greek-Cypriot origins. Nick was a disciplinarian, and was not impressed by some of Blue Watch's lax ways upon his arrival. However, he proved to be very caring and compassionate as he settled into the station, and like Tate, became something of a father figure to the members of the Watch. Nick's traditionalist family tried to arrange a marriage for him, but he resisted. He had an affair with his married cousin Ariadne. She died from injuries she incurred in a fall but their unborn son survived. Distraught, Nick initially struggled to cope with her death and his new son. He later met Dutch firefighter, Marianne, when she was at a demonstration show in the UK, and after a stop-start romance they eventually moved in together. Nick was promoted to ADO in Series 11, but had some trouble adjusting to the role and was never convinced that Chris Hammond was the right station officer for Blue Watch, especially after he found out that Hammond was being hounded by gangsters for an unpaid debt. Before he could take the matter up with DO Chapman, Nick was killed at a cinema fire when a ceiling collapsed on him.