Traffik

1 9 8 9 (UK)
1 x 120 minute episode
4 x 60 minute episodes

This intense five-part drama serial from Channel 4 told the story of British politician Jack Lithgow (Bill Paterson) – a Home Office minister – who finds himself in conflict with opium farmers in the North-West Frontier of Pakistan.

Local opium farmer Fazal (Jamal Shah) and his family are threatened by Lithgow’s mission, and the arrest of businessman Karl Rosshalde (George Kukura) in Hamburg during a major drugs haul leaves his English-born wife Helen (Lindsay Duncan) – a former Olympic swimmer – faced with social and financial ruin.

Returning to London, Lithgow discovers his daughter, Caroline (Julia Ormond in her first major role) – a student at Cambridge – is a heroin addict.

Meanwhile, burned off his land where he farmed poppies, Fazal goes to Karachi and works for Tariq Butt (Talat Hussain), a murderous drug lord, and Helen attempts to re-establish the family smuggling empire under the noses of the German police, being forced into increasingly violent and criminal acts.

All three storylines are drawn together as the series develops.

The series won the International Emmy for Drama.

Jack Lithgow
Bill Paterson
Helen Rosshalde
Lindsay Duncan
Ulli
Fritz Müller-Scherz
Fazal
Jamal Shah
Tariq Butt
Talat Hussain
Domenquez
Vincenzo Benestante
Karl Rosshalde
George Kukura
Sabira
Ismat Shah Jahan
Khushal
Raahi Raza
Naseem
Roohi Raza
Caroline Lithgow
Julia Ormond
Rachel Lithgow
Linda Bassett
Henderson
Peter Bourke
Dieter
Tilo Prückner
Ledesert
Peter Lakenmacher
Roomana
Faryal Gohar
Lisa
Shelley Goldfarb
Wallace
Tony Mathews
Lee
Ronan Vibert
Dilshad
Rahat Kazmi
Margaret
Sarah Mortimer
Lotte
Jennifer Susan Hibbert
Johann
Anthony Pfriem
Werner
Wolfgang Rau