It was produced for the BBC by the independent Red Production Company, and created by Paul Abbott.

[1] It was effectively an anthology programme, following the lives of a group of workers at a Manchester textile factory, with each episode focusing on the home life of a different character.

Well-known actors and actresses who appeared in the series included Christopher Eccleston, Sophie Okonedo, Philip Glenister, John Simm, Lesley Sharp, Siobhan Finneran, Emma Cunniffe, Diane Parish, David Morrissey, Ricky Tomlinson, Julian Rhind-Tutt, William Ash, Ben Crompton, Jack Deam, Jack P. Shepherd, Tina O'Brien, Jason Merrells, Pam Ferris, Wil Johnson, Ashley Jensen, Susan Cookson, Mark Benton, Lindsey Coulson, Paul Copley, Sarah Lancashire, Crissy Rock, Marshall Lancaster, Marc Warren, Claire Sweeney and Maxine Peake.

Nonetheless, every series was nominated for a BAFTA and other writers including Danny Brocklehurst, John Fay and Jan McVerry wrote successful stand-alone episodes.

In 2015, the first series was released on DVD in Australia[3] and was made available for purchase via the BBC Store.