Clocking Off 3

The award winning drama revolving around the staff of Mackintosh Textiles returns to BBC ONE for a third series.
On Thursday the 31st January 2002, 9pm

Widely acclaimed as one of the strongest, most innovative dramas to emerge in recent years, the new series continues to take ordinary factory workers and amplify their world - full of the laughter, pain, difficulty, confusion, lies, kindness and sometimes desperation that makes up everyday life. Each episode highlights an individual story as life on the factory floor rolls on.

Written by
Paul Abbott (Eps 1&7), Peter Bowker (Ep 6), Daniel Brocklehurst (Eps 4&5), John Fay (Ep 8), Matt Greenhalgh (Ep 3), Jan McVerry (Ep 2).

Starring
David Morrissey, Sophie Okonedo, Philip Glenister, Bob Pugh,
Nicola Stephenson, Marc Warren, Lorraine Ashbourne, Siobhan Finneran, Craig Kelly, Phil Cornwell, James Murray, Wil Johnson, Jack Deam,
William Ash.

Directed by
Nigel Douglas (Eps 1, 3 & 5), John Duthie (Eps 2 & 4),
David Jackson (Eps 6, 7 & 8)

Created by
Paul Abbott

Executive producer
Nicola Shindler

Produced by
Juliet Charlesworth

Seamlessly blending regular characters with newcomers punching their cards for the first time, mixing comedy with pain and regret, BAFTA award-winning Clocking Off returns to BBC ONE to demonstrate how extraordinary ordinary life can be. The machines keep on whirring in the background, while people are derailed by events they cannot control, halted in their tracks by tragedy, suddenly alight with love or just temporarily diverted by a roar of laughter. All of life is there.

Nicola Shindler is clear that Clocking Off's unique format suits particular writers and particular stories: "There's a certain type of voice that suits Clocking Off. There must be a very good capacity for story telling; a strong grasp of blue-collar dialogue; and a spot-on feel for humour. Even though these can be dark stories, they're always told with comedy and that's often the key to getting the right writer. As to storylines - it's hard to pinpoint what makes a 'Clocking Off' story, but you know when you've got one. It has to be full and extraordinary but absolutely believable."

"I don't think Clocking Off is a total reflection of real life but it is pretty close," says Nicola Shindler in conclusion. "We've kept away from Toy-Town images of a community, where everyone helps everyone else, because that is not what life is like. People care about their families but other than that, they're quite cold and insular. We've also avoided neat endings and sweeping moral judgements. Paul Abbott created a classy, original concept and I think we've stayed true to it."