Roughnecks (TV series)

This article is about the BBC series. For the animated series in the Starship Troopers franchise, see Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles.

Roughnecks
GenreDrama
Created byKieran Prendiville
Written by
  • Kieran Prendiville
  • Steve Coombes
  • Bryan Elsley
  • Dave Robinson
  • Alan Whiting
Directed by
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
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Production
Executive producerMichael Wearing
Producers
  • Moira Williams
  • Charles Elton
Production locationsAberdeenshire, Scotland
Cinematography
  • Hubert Taczanowski
  • John Daly
Editors
  • Bryan Oates
  • Don Fairservice
Running time50 minutes
Production companyFirst Choice Productions
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release16 June 1994 (1994-06-16) –
21 December 1995 (1995-12-21)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Roughnecks is a British television drama series, created and principally written by former Tomorrow's World presenter Kieran Prendiville, that first broadcast on BBC1 on 16 June 1994. Produced by First Choice Productions, Roughnecks ran for two series, with the final episode broadcasting on 21 December 1995. The series centres on the working and personal lives of the crew of the fictional oil rig "The Osprey Explorer" in the North Sea. Offshore filming was undertaken on the oil rig Dan Countess, which was not in use at the time.[1]

The series boasted a high calibre cast, including the likes of Liam Cunningham, Teresa Banham, James Cosmo, Bruce Jones, Clive Russell, Ricky Tomlinson, Paul Copley and Ashley Jensen. Notably for a British television series, the main theme was written and composed by renowned American television composer Mike Post.[2] An official guide to the series, written by Tom McGregor and featuring interviews with the cast and crew, was published on 29 September 1995, prior to the broadcast of the second series.[3] Neither series has been made available on DVD.

  1. ^ "Roughnecks – Aberdeen City and Shire". Aberdeen City and Shire. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Roughnecks – Title Sequence (BBC, 1994)". 21 August 2008. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2019 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Roughnecks by Tom McGregor (Hardcover, 29 Sep 1995). ASIN 0752207369.