John Hannah, John Thomson and Lisa Faulkner head the cast in New Street Law, a gripping, contemporary legal drama against the backdrop of Manchester's legal community. John Hannah plays Jack Roper, a principled barrister who finds himself locked in rivalry with his former mentor Lawrence Scammell played by Paul Freeman. Roper turns down Scammell's lucrative job offer to open his own defence-only practice placing them on opposite sides of the law and the courtroom.
Jack founded his own firm with old friend Al Ware (Chris Gascoyne); lovable chancer Charlie Darling (John Thomson); no-nonsense Annie Quick (Lara Cazalet) and cocky Joe Stevens (Lee Williams). Jack's confidence grows with every case he wins and he rapidly threatens Laurence's firmly established position in the legal community - something that Laurence's ruthlessly ambitious wife, Honor (Penny Downie), is determined to prevent. Lurking in the wings is Laurence's daughter, Laura (Lisa Faulkner), who works for the family chambers. She shares Jack's instinctive passion for justice, but she also poses a threat.
Written by BAFTA award-winner G F Newman, the entire first series has been released on DVD by Acorn Media and contains a host of DVD extras including outtakes, cast interviews and filmographies, scene indexing and a behind-the-scenes picture gallery. The triple DVD runs for approximately 470 minutes and has a recommended price tag of £24.99.
| Episode | Synopsis | Tx. Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack takes on a young arsonist's case, while Charlie tries to get two fraudsters off the hook | 4.5.06 |
| 2 | Battling a polluting landfill company brings Jack's chambers to the edge, and Joe has girl problems. | 11.5.06 |
| 3 | Jack defends a man accused of murdering his wife, while Joe tries to help a nurse. | 18.5.06 |
| 4 | Charlie's keen to defend a TV presenter, but Jack's reluctant to take on an alleged assault. | 25.5.06 |
| 5 | Jack and Charlie defend policemen accused of torture, while Lee visits a mental institution. | 1.6.06 |
| 6 | A medical negligence case brings discord to the Scammel chambers. | 8.6.06 |
| 7 | Jack defends a young man accused of shooting a policeman - but is he too close to his client? | 15.6.06 |
| 8 | Jack goes out on a limb to defend a widow accused of hiding evidence in a murder. | 21.5.06 |