Tom Hadaway

Anthology series of half hour plays produced in BBC's Television Centre's studios.

When the Boat Comes In is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 8 January 1976 and 21 April 1981. Taking place between 1919 to 1937, Jack Ford is a veteran of The Great War who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshield in the North East of England. It dramatises the interwar political struggles of the 1920s and 1930s, and explores the impact of national and international politics upon Ford and those around him.

In amongst the fishing quaysides of the North East of England, manipulative Bob is first able to wangle his way into a prominent position within a fish distribution firm. It isn’t long before he has his sights not only on the boss’s job - but also his wife as well.

A fisherman is about to launch his new trawler and wants to make it an occasion for his girlfriend to remember.

A feature drama set in the declining fishing industry in North Shields, the film centres on the upheaval caused in a traditional fishing community by the unexpected arrival of a young woman.

Betty and her daughter Corinna are introduced to the harsh seacoaling way of life by Ray, an ex-seacoaler returning from a job with ICI. His offer of a caravan on a cliff top and promises of the Klondyke that awaits them at least seem preferable to the violent marriage she has left behind. The film sets Betty's struggle for survival against the wider struggles of the seacoaling community, surviving on the fringes of capitalism. Despite the exploitation by a local entrepreneur, run-ins with dole snoops and School Board men and the ever encroaching regulations of a hostile council, their lives retain a kind of anarchic romance, which is reflected in the film's lyrical style.

Sharm's dog attacks a hostile neighbour, and has to make a decision for which he has no guide lines.