Northern Lights

Northern Lights
Format	Dramedy
Created by	Bob Mills Jeff Pope
Developed by	Bob Mills Jeff Pope
Starring	The Armstrongs: Robson Green (Colin) Nicola Stephonson (Jackie) Linzey Cocker (Brooke) Lee Worswick (Liam) Alex Rimmer (Leyton) The Scotts: Mark Benton (Howie) Siân Reeves (Pauline) Maisie Breakenridge (Victoria)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	8 (Incl. Pilot and 1 special)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Harries Jeff Pope
Producer(s)	Bob Mills Jeff Pope Spencer Campbell
Camera setup	Multi Cameria Set-Up
Running time	60 minutes (with commercials), approx 47-50 minutes (without commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV (ITV1/STV/UTV)
Picture format	Widescreen SDTV
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	21 December 2004 – 21 December 2008

Northern Lights is a 2006 comedy-drama broadcast on ITV starring Mark Benton and Robson Green. It is a spin-off of the 2004 Christmas special Christmas Lights.

A sequel, City Lights, was broadcast in 2007. Also a Christmas special, Clash of the Santas, was broadcast in December 2008. It featured Colin and Howie taking a trip to Lithuania to represent the UK in a Santa convention. The main problem with this is that miserable Howie is picked as Santa, while true Christmas believer Colin is relegated to the role of cheerleading elf.

Cast

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Colin Armstrong - Robson Green The phrase 'one of the lads' was made for Colin. His perfect night would be a kick-about on the football pitch, a pint and a 'craic' with his mates and then going for some nookie with his wife Jackie. Colin would walk over hot coals for his best friend Howard, but he can't help being a little narked at his new-found success at work. He's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about always being seen as the joker and therefore not taken seriously and so he is fiercely competitive with his mate. Very happily married, he and Jackie have three children, Brooke, Liam and Leyton.

Howard Scott - Mark Benton Howie is both dependable and loyal - a 'gentle giant' who has always been there to pick up the pieces as Colin storms through life. He and Colin share the same child-like sense of humour and silly sense of competitiveness. Howie sometimes falls under Colin's shadow but he's no pushover and is more than capable of sticking up for himself when needs be. Recently promoted to management at work, he's keen to better himself and provide the luxuries of life for his wife Pauline and baby daughter Victoria.

Jackie Armstrong - Nicola Stephenson Jackie is fiery, kind and practical. She and Colin are the type of couple you want to be – good friends who also fancy the pants off each other. Jackie is incredibly close to her sister Pauline and they enjoy living next door to each other and combining their family's lives. When Colin and Howie are daggers drawn this can lead to the sisters' diplomatic skills being stretched to extremes, but the girls always stay united despite their husbands' antics.

Pauline Scott - Sian Reeves Pauline is a little quieter than her sister and has a traditional outlook on life. She is a tower of strength to them all and incredibly protective of her brood; she would fight tooth and nail to defend them against attack. She is torn between enjoying the perks that Howie's salary now allows and being unsettled by the changes it also brings. She gave birth to baby Victoria 18 months ago and as the series starts is on a quest to get her and Howie's sex life back on track.

Eric Foulkes - Keith Clifford Father to Jackie and Pauline, Eric has recently retired as foreman at Sherpa Freight where his sons-in-law still work and is fondly remembered by staff. He now splits his time between babysitting for the two families and his allotment. Towards the end of the series it comes to light that Eric is more of a dark horse than we thought.

Nigel Cockburn - James Midgley Colin's nemesis and a prize prat - Cockburn is humourless, ambitious and highly focussed on climbing the career ladder at Sherpa Freight. But will the winning combination of Howie and Colin get in his way?

Len Guthrie - Russell Dixon Old-school Len is often the voice of reason to counter Cockburn's management style. Respectful of his hard working staff, he is a champion of both Howie and Colin over the course of the series.

Episodes

External links

• 'Northern Lights' at the Internet Movie Database
• Northern Lights at The Robson Green Web Site
• Review of Clash of the Santas, Leicester Mercury