It's been close to 20 years since Newcastle set BBC drama 55 Degrees North made its debut, with the broadcaster hoping that the crime show would prove to be a big ratings winner. And, while it was axed after just two series some of its cast are still very much in the spotlight.
It was back in the summer of 2004 that 55 Degrees North, sharing its name with a famous roundabout and apartment complex in the city centre made a rather hyped up debut on BBC One, with its launch attracting an audience of over five million, as the action was centered on fictional force Tyneside Police.
The building used as police HQ was in fact just over the other side of the river - HMS Calliope, a Royal Navy Reserve training centre on the banks of the Tyne in Gateshead. The main protagonist in 55 Degrees North's plot was Don Gilet as DS Nicky Cole, who was given the boot to the North East, after blowing the whistle on a senior police officer guilty of corruption in London.
