NEW DRAMA STARTS THURSDAY 20TH FEBRUARY ON SKY 1 HD

During 2014, Sky customers can look forward to Sky’s biggest and best year of entertainment content. One of the highlights for the year is new home-grown drama THE SMOKE, which will air exclusively on Sky 1 HD on Thursday 20th February at 9pm. The first episode will also be available for all to view at youtube.com/skyfirstepisodes from Saturday 1st March.

From Kudos Film and TV, the makers of Broadchurch and The Tunnel, and written by Lucy Kirkwood (Skins, Chimerica), this eight part series follows the high-adrenaline adventures of the White Watch, a team of London firefighters. Leading the crew is Kev (Jamie Bamber, Battlestar Galactica), a good man injured and betrayed during the worst fire of his career. Standing by Kev’s side as he returns to work is his gutsy girlfriend Trish (Jodie Whittaker, Broadchurch) who is striving to hold on to love against the odds and his cocksure friend and fellow firefighter Mal (Rhashan Stone, Strike Back) whose loyalty is tested to the extreme.

At the heart of the series is the White Watch family: Little Al (Gerard Kearns, Shameless), Ziggy (Pippa Bennett-Warner, Lewis), Rob (David Walmsley, In The Flesh), Billy the Mince (Dorian Lough, Trial & Retribution), and new boy Dennis (Taron Egerton, Lewis).

THE SMOKE is a gripping ensemble drama about what it’s really like to be a firefighter in Britain today. And that it’s tough trying to be a hero in a world that dismisses and disregards heroes. But whatever White Watch might go through, they are never beaten down, and they are always able to fall back on one another. As irreverent and emotionally charged as it is thrilling, you’ll never before have seen a show about firefighters quite like THE SMOKE.  

By 2014, Sky will invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.  This commitment includes home-grown content such as upcoming entertainment quiz DUCK QUACKS DON’T ECHO, dramas such as THE TUNNEL, DRACULA, A YOUNG DOCTOR’S NOTEBOOK, MOONFLEET and  FLEMING and, comedies such as STELLA, DOLL & EM, THE KUMARS and factual shows such as KARL PILKINGTON: THE MOANING OF LIFE, THE SOUTH BANK SHOW, THE FACE and ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD.

THE SMOKE will air on Sky 1 HD and Sky 1+ 1 from Thursday 20th February at 9pm.

The first episode will be available for all to view at youtube.com/skyfirstepisodes from 1st March

Notes to editor

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company.  Around 40% of all homes have a direct relationship with Sky through its range of TV, broadband and home telephony services.

Sky is the UK’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than £2.5 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News.   Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is invested in the UK and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original British programmes.  More than 30 million people watch Sky content each week.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator.  Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.

Sky distributes its content broadly over several platforms, including satellite, cable, IPTV, mobile and WiFi.  NOW TV, Sky’s second consumer brand, builds on the company’s leadership in internet TV.  Sky is also the UK's fastest-growing home communications company and favourite ‘triple-play’ provider of TV, broadband and home phone.

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts.  Sky employs 24,000 people, has annual revenues of £7.2 billion and is estimated to support a £5.9 billion contribution to UK GDP.  Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (BSY).