21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
BBC adds 'stonking masterclass' of '90s drama with amazing cast and raunchy scenes to iPlayer
BBC adds 'stonking masterclass' of '90s drama with amazing cast and raunchy scenes to iPlayer
1997 BBC drama The Lakes starring John Simm was considered as a coming-of-age series for many 1990s TV viewers
Kaye Wragg, John Simm and Emma Cunniffe in The Lakes
(Image: BBC )
If you watched TV in the late 1990s - and were over 15 - you'll have definitely tuned into Jimmy McGovern's The Lakes. The pedigree of McGovern's screenwriting, from the likes of Cracker to Hillsborough, still makes his shows a must-watch to this day and he continues turning out class act series like Time, Accused and Broken.
The Lakes saw new star of the moment, John Simm, as Danny Kavanagh, a Scouser with a gambling problem who runs away to the Lake District, gets a local girl pregnant - lets her down by gambling and ends up on the sharp end of the local community's anger after three girls die after sneaking out on a boat at the rental company he's got a job at. Despite wasting no time trying to save the schoolgirls, his reticence in revealing that he was on the phone to a bookie at the time they took the boat sees him become an easy scapegoat and the four-part drama follows the web of blame and bad behaviour that ultimately leads to the girls' death.
Now the show is back on the BBC thanks to iPlayer, almost 30 years after it first aired and with few repeat viewings it's a real treat for TV fans. It's a gripping and bleak affair but with stupendous performances from Simm and a supporting cast of familiar faces. Emma Cunniffe stars as Emma, Danny's wife, you'll recognise her from long-running shows like Silent Witness, Unforgotten and she was recently in Call the Midwife.
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Welsh duo, Charles Dale and Robert Pugh play sex addict Chef and Father Matthew, respectively. Tenby-born Dale, who's nothing like on-screen bully Chef, is one of those faces you'll know from Corrie, The Pembrokeshire Murders, Unforgotten and he was Casualty's Big Mac for more than a decade. Pugh, also recently seen in Casualty, was Craster in Game of Thrones and has starred in Hollywood films like Master & Commander and Robin Hood.
John Simm shared the news on his Instagram and said the show was a 'masterclass in screenwriting' as he effused the show was a lifechanging experience - he went on to star in Human Traffic, Life on Mars and ITV's Grace, which is currently airing its fifth series. He writes: "It was special for Jimmy because it was autobiographical and it was special for me because it was the game changer in my career. I was 26 years old and having the time of my life in the Lake District playing the wonderful role of Danny Kavanagh with an amazing cast & crew, the best director (David Blair) and of course the greatest writer of them all. I'll be forever grateful for this opportunity."
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Fans of John and the series itself didn't hold back in praise of the show. One wrote: "Not seen since first airing - when I think I watched it with my parents . What a stonking show." Another commented: "Amazing ! Can't wait to watch this again absolutely brilliant ! & Jimmy McGovern was my English teacher inspirational."
Simm's famous followers also revealed themselves to be fans of the show. Doctor Who boss, Russell T Davies said: "Oh amazing, what a brilliant show." Daniel Mays, famed for his roles in Line of Duty, A Thousand Blows and Mrs Biggs added: "Amazing show."
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As well as reairing the first series, series two isn't streaming yet, BBC iPlayer also have a mini-documentary with Jimmy McGovern who revisits the show. Both The Lakes and Jimmy McGovern Remembers are on BBC iPlayer, now. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
