This drama was seen by many as an indictment of Thatcher's Britain, but, in fact, Alan Bleasdale wrote four out of the five episodes before Margaret Thatcher even came to power.
This series broke new ground for a major television drama in that it was shot almost entirely on videotape, using a new generation of portable video cameras that could be used more easily on-location. Yosser's story, however, was shot on 16mm film for artistic/creative reasons.
Produced out of the BBC's Regional Drama HQ based at Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham, but shot entirely on-location in Liverpool.
Yosser Hughes' (Bernard Hill's) children were played by Alan Bleasdale's children, while Dixie Dean's (Tom Georgeson's) son Kev was played by Bleasdale's cousin Gary Bleasdale.