Empire Road

Empire Road
Genre	Drama
Starring	Norman Beaton, Allister Bain, Sheila Kelley, Frances Cox, Meg Johnson, Thomas Baptiste, Wayne Laryea
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	15
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC2
Original release	31 October 1978 – 1 November 1979

Empire Road is a British television series, made by the BBC in 1978 and 1979. Written by Michael Abbensetts, the programme ran for two series.

The series was the first British television series to be written, acted and directed predominantly by black artists. A soap opera, similar in format to Coronation Street, Empire Road depicted life for the African-Caribbean, East Indian and South Asian residents of a racially diverse street in the city of Birmingham.

Prominent cast members included Norman Beaton, Corinne Skinner-Carter, Wayne Laryea, Joseph Marcell and Rudolph Walker. The programme also provided early TV exposure for Julie Walters who appeared in a few episodes. The series was made at BBC Pebble Mill with location work in the Handsworth area of Birmingham.

The eponymously named theme song was recorded by Matumbi and also released as a single in 1978.

External links

• Action TV
• British Film Institute Screen Online