The Rack Pack. Image shows from L to R: Steve Davis (Will Merrick), Alex Higgins (Luke Treadaway), Jimmy White (James Bailey). Copyright: Zeppotron
The Rack Pack

The Rack Pack

  • TV comedy drama
  • BBC iPlayer
  • 2016
  • 1 episode

Comedy drama of the world of snooker in the 1970s and 80s, and the rivalry between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis. Stars Luke Treadaway, Will Merrick, Kevin Bishop, Nichola Burley and James Bailey

The Rack Pack. Image shows from L to R: Barry Hearn (Kevin Bishop), Steve Davis (Will Merrick), Alex Higgins (Luke Treadaway), Lynn Higgins (Nichola Burley), Jimmy White (James Bailey). Copyright: Zeppotron

Key details

Genre
Comedy Drama
Broadcast
2016
Channel
BBC iPlayer
Episodes
1
Stars
Luke Treadaway, Will Merrick, Kevin Bishop, Nichola Burley and James Bailey
Writers
Shaun Pye, Mark Chappell and Alan Connor
Director
Brian Welsh
Producers
Barney Reisz and Peter Holmes
Company

The Rack Pack is a comedy drama exploring the glory days of the Seventies and Eighties snooker scene, when huge characters became household names and Snooker Loopy troubled the pop charts.

The story tells of the rivalry between Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, whose natural talent and showmanship transformed the image of the traditional game and captivated audiences across the country, and the interesting Steve 'The Nugget' Davis who under the guidance of manager Barry Hearn dominated the sport throughout the Eighties and ushered in a new era of professionalism.

Other characters include Alex's wife, Lynn Higgins, and the greatest player never to be World Champion, Jimmy White.

This rip roaring romp through the snooker scene of Eighties Britain is a celebration of the huge personalities of the time and an affectionate look at a gloriously nostalgic period of this very British sport.

In 1985, the climax of the world snooker final broadcast between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor on the BBC in the early hours of a Monday morning was watched by 18.5 million people in the UK, which remains a record for a post-midnight audience for any channel in the country.

2015 is the 30th anniversary of that final and The Rack Pack celebrates this by bringing the party to BBC iPlayer.

Additional details

Production
Location
Camera set-up
Single camera
Picture
Colour

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Sunday 17th January 2016 at 9pm on BBC iPlayer
Episode length
88 minutes
All previous repeats
  • Sunday 23rd April 2017 at 10:00pm on BBC2
  • Saturday 16th July 2016 at 10:00pm on BBC2

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