Edge of Darkness (1985) Audio Description Introduction

Audio description introduction for the award-winning 1985 conspiracy thriller “Edge of Darkness”, with an overview of the culture of the UK at the time, and episode by episode descriptions of the characters and locations.

A small, round photo of a smiling man with a mop of dark hair and a pointy nose.

by Brett Coulstock. . Modified .

Note: This audio description introduction forms part of a larger project to independently describe Edge of Darkness (1985). This is a large undertaking. As of September 2026, this document is complete only to the exent it that it covers the general cultural context of the series, and the first two episodes, all in some detail. It should, however, be regarded as a draft, and may be updated in the future.

The remaining episodes, and further notes and references, will be added incrementally, but not on any given schedule.

About the Series

This is an audio described introduction for the award-winning 1985 BBC television mini-series Edge of Darkness.

Edge of Darkness is a conspiracy thriller set during the mid 80s in Britain. It runs for six episodes of about 50 minutes each. It was written by Troy Kennedy Martin and directed by Martin Campbell. The production was shot entirely on film, a medium with a distinct, grainy aesthetic that allows more emphasis on light and shadows. Being from 1985, it is in the 4:3 aspect ratio, rather than a widescreen format favoured by television today.

In 2010 Edge of Darkness was made into a feature film in starring Mel Gibson that transposed the setting to the United States, but it gathered mixed reviews, and lacks the depth and complexity of the original.

Political and Cultural Context

Edge of Darkness, sitting squarely as it does in the mid-point of the 1980s, is both a product of, and a reflection of the concerns and anxieties of its time.

The broader geopolitical context of the time is dominated by the ongoing political tension between the two nuclear super-powers, the Soviet Union and the United States of America, known as the Cold War; in the domestic sphere the country was graplling with th rise of Thatcherism, the Miners' strikes, and the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom in 1985

The internet as we understand it today did not exist, although there were computer networks used by the military, law enforcement, universities, and industry. Computers were mostly terminals, with bulky CRT monitors restricted to text of a single colour, clunky keyboards, and dot-matrix line printers. There were no mobile phones, although car phones did exist and are occasionally used by characters in the series. In the UK gun ownership is rare, and even the Police seldom carried firearms.

Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of the UK in 1979 and was re-elected in 1983, with a majority of 144 seats, leaving the opposing Labour Party with only 209 seats. Thatcher and her Conservative government promoted entrepreneurialism, deregulation and the privatisation of utilities and heavy industry, including the mining sector.

Nuclear Anxiety

Given the background of the Cold War, the topic of nuclear power and the fear of a nuclear exchange were very much part of the cultural zeitgeist, and the widespread anxiety was reflected in the media.

Just the year before in 1984 saw the release of the bleak and harrowing Threads, as well as the action-film The Terminator which included dramatic visuals of the aftermath of a nuclear war.

Reagan's “Star Wars” Strategic Defence Initiative was announced in 1983, the same year of the release of The War Games, The Day After and, in particular, Silkwood a biographical film about Karen Silkwood a nuclear whistle-blower and union activist killed in a car crash.

The IRA

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), sometimes referred to as “provo's”, was a republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, and was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and unlawful in the Republic of Ireland. From wikipedia:

It used guerrilla tactics against the British Army and RUC in both rural and urban areas, and carried out a bombing campaign in Northern Ireland and England against military, political and economic targets, and British military targets in mainland Europe. They also targeted civilian contractors to the British security forces. The IRA's armed campaign, primarily in Northern Ireland but also in England and mainland Europe, killed over 1,700 people.

UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher survived an assassination attempt the previous year by the IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing.

The Miners' Strike

Edge of Darkness is set partly in Yorkshire, a region of Northern England, where the 1984-1985 United Kingdom Miners' Strike began. It was a major industrial action in an attempt to prevent closures of Coal Mines that the Thatcher government deemed uneconomic to keep active. The closures and privatisation of the mines cost thousands of miners their jobs, and the strike involved a number of violent confrontations between the miners and the police.

The strike was ruled illegal in September 1984 due to the failure of the National Union of Mineworkers to hold a national ballot of their members prior to strike action.

The strike ended in March the following year, a major victory for Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The popular film Billy Elliot was set during the Miners' Strike.

MI5 and MI6

MI5, an abbreviation for “Military Intelligence Section 5” is the UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency. Its remit is to “Protect British parliamentary democracy and economic interests and to counter terrorism and espionage within the United Kingdom.”

MI6 is referenced by both Craven and Pendleton in Episode 1 as simply “Six” and is the foreign intelligence service of the UK (and famously is the organisation that employs Ian Fleming's fictional character James Bond). It is also referred to in Episode 3 as SIS the “Secret Intelligence Service”.

Sellafield

Sellafield, referenced in the series, is a large nuclear facility close to the coast of Cumbria in the North West of England. At the time of the transmission of the program, it was an operating nuclear power plant and nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. Between 1950 and 2000 it suffered an number of incidents involving radioactive material being released into the environment.

Episode 1 - Compassionate Leave

Audio Description Notes for Episode 1

One scene features the song Time of the Preacher from the 1975 album Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson. The song is track 1 from the album, but also has track 3 appended as a coda.

It is recommended to listen to the two tracks prior to watching the episode. The music plays for an extended sequence without any dialogue, and by necessity the audio description interferes at points with the lyrics, which are referred to in later episodes.

Later in the series, reference is made to a second coda, track 7 on the album.

Ronald Craven

“I want this cleared up.”

The protagonist of the series is a plain-clothes Yorkshire police detective played by Bob Peck, who is often referred to as either “Ronnie” or “Craven”. He's a tall white man in his early 40s with neatly brushed receding brown hair giving him a high forehead, and a bald patch at the back. He has a long oval face, with a squared-off jaw, a long nose and wide, pale blue eyes.

Later in the episode, when dishevelled and soaking wet, his shirt is opened a couple of buttons and we see he has a thatch of dark chest-hair.

In the early scene with Godbolt he wears a shirt and red tie, and a light grey trench-coat. At home when he's preparing dinner, he wears a light shirt rolled to the sleeves, and worn denim jeans with a square belt-buckle. When he visits the West Riding Police Station and coroner, it is in a sober dark pin-stripe suit and tie. Later, in London, he wears a light shirt, jeans and a dark jacket.

Bob Peck won a BAFTA award for his portrayal of Craven.

James Godbolt

“For God's sake man I'm not asking much. I'm just asking you to delay the enquiry until we get back from Blackpool. It's only two weeks.”

Godbolt, the leader of a miner's trade union in Northern England is played by Jack Watson. He's a vigorous white man in his early 70s, clean shaven, with a slab-like craggy face. He has receding ginger hair and deep-set blue eyes. The script describes him as “… a huge, confident man of fifty”, and he's broad-shouldered and wears a dark pin-stripe suit with a blue tie.

Ross

“Bloody reporter more like”

Detective Chief Superintendent Harold Ross is played by John Woodvine. He's a white man in his mid 50s, with short, neatly brushed grey hair, parted on the right. He has a round face, usually a serious expression, and has a dimple in his chin. Ross has drooping upper-eyelids and pale blue-grey eyes. He has a firm, paternal manner with his subordinates.

He wears a variety of light grey suits, and when outside in the rain he wears a dark overcoat.

The Watcher

The watcher, seen standing outside in the rain, is a white man in his mid 40s, wearing soaking-wet white trainers, and a dark green glistening wet service anorak. Under the anorak's hood we see he has a thick black mustache, thick black eyebrows and unblinking, staring blue eyes that project naked hostility. He's played by Sean Caffrey.

Jones

“How'd it go?”

Jones, played by David Fleeshman, is a West Riding Police detective, and Craven's “number two”. He's a white man in his early 30s with short, curly dark hair and a round face. He wears a light suit and tie.

Emma Craven

“Comrade sisters, I think we should now put the motion to the vote.”

Emma Craven, played by Joanne Whalley is Ronald Craven's daughter, a scientist and activist. She's a slender 21 year old white woman with ash-blonde hair in a voluminous shag-cut. She has pale skin with a red blush to her cheeks and pixie-like features including wide brown eyes that seem to twinkle when she teases her father.

She wears a white top with a pale pink jacket and matching dress, with pale coloured shoes with high heels.

8 Year old Emma Craven is played by Imogen Staley. She has a round face, thick brown hair in a boyish cut, and wide expressive eyes. At a funeral, she wears a grey v-neck sweater over a white shirt and school-tie, and a matching grey dress. In Craven's car, she wears a red puffy anorak over a pastel blue turtle-neck.

Craven's House

Craven's house stands on a hill in a rural area surrounded by farmers' fields, dense trees and foliage. It's a two story house with bay windows, rendered in white plaster. The parking garage is a separate structure, built down the hill, and the main access to the house is via a set of wide, curving steps adjacent to the garage, and just off the steep driveway. Left and right of the steps going up the hill are trees and foliage. At the back of the house, visible from the kitchen, is a broad, flat lawn with a wide boxy shed to the side.

The interior of Craven's house features tall ceilings, and walls with a variety of patterned wall-paper, nothing garish but we would think of the designs as a bit twee. The round wooden kitchen table is cluttered with bottles, mugs and empty tins.

Pendleton

“My name is Pendleton. I would like to speak to the chief constable”.

Pendleton is played by Charles Kay. He's a tanned white man, mid 50s, short with a slight build. He sports a dark mustache, and has receding dark hair flecked with grey. He has hazel eyes, but in low light they're like black buttons. He often smiles without showing teeth, giving more of an impression of a smirk.

Pendleton wears a light shirt and tie for most of the episode, but near the end is seen in a dark suit.

Darius Jedburgh

“Just got back from Texas. Bought you a present from Houston.”

Darius Jedburgh, a CIA agent, is played by Joe Don Baker. The script introduces him as “… a big man, whose genial manner could conceal a dangerous streak”. He's certainly larger than life, and later in the series someone accuses him of playing up to the Texan stereotype. Physically, he's a clean-shaven white man in his late 40s, broad-shouldered with a hefty build. He has a rounded, pear-shaped fleshy face, and smiles easily. He's clean-shaven, and has thick, receding brown hair.

In episode one he wears a straw cowboy hat which he hangs up immediately, a light, tan coloured jacket, polo shirt and shows a bit of a paunch hanging over the edge of his grey trousers. He walks with a swagger.

Detective Inspector Dingle, C11

Detective Inspector Dingle is attached to Department C11 [Pronunciation: sea-eleven] , the criminal investigation department of the London Metropolitan Police. He's a white man in his early 40s, shorter than Craven. He has an oval face, untidy ginger hair, blue eyes and, when he smiles, there's a gap in his front-teeth.

Minor Characters in Episode One

  • Michael Meacher MP, playing himself, is a Labour Party politician. He's a white man, mid 40s with grey hair. He's dressed in a suit and wears glasses.

  • Doctor Muntsey is the coroner, a fussy, small man with a round face and a greying mustache, round spectacles, wearing a lab-coat and a bow-tie.

Episode 2 - Into the Shadows

Audio Description Notes for Episode 2

Opening Scene

The opening scene is dialogue heavy and difficult to adequately describe with the few gaps presented.

After several seconds of darkness, the scene fades in to a close-up of a tape recorder on a table.

The scene takes place in a room of the West Riding Police Headquarters. As the recording plays, the camera slowly pans around about five or six white men, who sit there listening. The men are detectives, mostly in their 30s to 50s, dressed in suits or shirt-sleeves. They look serious as they listen, and several are smoking. They all appear dishevelled and tired. The scene finishes with the camera settling on Jones, and standing near him, Ross.

The credits play over this scene. In the script, this scene takes place in Episode 1, but has been moved to the beginning of Episode 2 to remind the audience of events in Episode 1, screened one week earlier. This scene is omitted entirely in the version edited together into double episodes for the BBC 1 repeat.

Ballistics

In the ballistics testing room, a gun is fired vertically down into a hole set into a raised bench, like an old fashioned bench-toilet. After firing, the forensic firearms specialist Carlisle pulls, from some depth, a bucket of water up by a chain, and retrieves the bullet.

Emma

Emma, aside from being a voice in Craven's head, occasionally appears in person throughout the remaining episodes, mysteriously appearing and disappearing. This is never presented as a special effects shot, and is instead achieved through clever use of camera angles and editing.

In the scene where Craven is walking away from Shields' flat along a street with parked cars, the camera tracks along with him, probably with a long lens from the other side of the road, so that the parked cars, and the moving cars, regularly pass between the camera and the subjects.

So, as a car momentarily occludes the view of Craven, Emma is suddenly and quite normally walking along beside him. When Craven reaches his taxi, the camera shifts down to the side window to allow us to see Craven getting into the back, and he is now alone. Emma is gone.

The effect is similar to the comic book cliche of Commissioner Gordon not noticing Batman arrive or disappear in his office. A panel is focused on Gordon who has turned away, or been otherwise distracted, and then a wider panel shows the office otherwise empty, leaving Gordon to be surprised or annoyed.

The effect, at the time, was startlingly original, and the absence of any video effects means the audience isn't asked to accept any extra level of unreality.

Harcourt

“I was sorry to hear your news, Inspector. Letters, Ellen.”

The script describes Harcourt as “… a plump man who, when he isn't looking cross, seems permanently pleased with himself.” Harcourt was an early role for actor Ian McNeice who is perhaps better known for his later TV roles as Winston Churchill in Doctor Who, and Bert Large from Doc Martin.

He's a white man in his mid 30s, somewhat resembling an overgrown, rotund schoolboy with untidy black curls. He has a round face and bulging neck which is well on the way to becoming a double-chin. He wears a dark suit with a red silk pocket handkerchief and a dark-red tie.

When Harcourt is looking pleased with himself he has a charming lopsided smile and twinkling eyes, but this expression can shift to be serious with eyes large and round and pursed lips giving him a hang-dog look.

Terry Shields

“Hi, sorry there was somebody at the door. What? No, c'mon we discussed this already. Yeah, we'll talk about it at Julie's on Wednesday.”

Terry Shields, Emma's boyfriend and political activist, is played by Tim McInnerny. He's a tall, thin, wiry man with short cut dark hair, in his late 20s, wearing a black t-shirt and grey cargo-pants. He's unshaven, stubble covering fully the lower half of his face, and his neck seems a little too long proportional to his body.

When Craven visits him, he's smoking a cigarette which is burnt almost to a stub, taking it in and out of his mouth with tight, anxious movements.

Minor Characters from Episode 2

  • Carlisle is a forensic ballistics specialist, played by Anthony Douse. He's a white man with untidy flattened grey hair and a long face; he wears a grey lab-coat over a shirt and shabby tie.

  • Elham is one of the C11 detectives, played by Paul Humpoletz. He's a heavy-set white man with receding short cut dark hair and a thick dark mustache. He wears a dark suit.

  • Sue Cook, playing herself, is the real-life television presenter of the programme Crimewatch. She's a well presented, professional white woman in her mid 30s with shoulder-length wavy blond hair

Filed under: Audio Description and Accessibilty