This Tyne Tees series was based on Frederick Grice’s 1969 novel, The Courage of Andy Robson, about a young boy who is uprooted from his life in the pit community of Easington in 1910, when his father is killed in a mining accident.
Andy Robson (Tom Davidson) is sent to stay in a remote part of Northumberland, but after upsetting his new schoolmaster and making an enemy of the school bully he realises he has a lot to learn about rural life.
Andy is given a dog to care for but in the second episode (‘Plague Dogs’) an outbreak of rabies further alienates him from the locals. Help is at hand in the form of upper-class Victoria Dennison (Stephanie Tague) and local lad Alec (Stevie-Lee Pattinson) whom he befriends.
The trio shared numerous adventures across two seasons including intrigue with foreign agents, hunting for buried treasure, and preparing for a royal visit.
Andy Robson
Tom Davidson Alec Cowen
Stevie-Lee Pattinson Matthew Dennison
Jack Watling Victoria Dennison
Stephanie Tague Adam Charlton
Norman Jones Florrie Charlton
Marlene Sidaway Dickie Cowen
Peter Bagley Mr Craggs
Malcolm Terris Helga Mueller
Jill Greenacre Peter Mueller
George Sewell Billy Craggs
Jeremy Mawdsley Frederika Mueller
Katja Kersten PC Pierce
Richard Steele
