Booze, drugs and Egg in the buff: How This Life sexed up TV

Oral sex in the kitchen, weed-smoking, talk of temazepam and a full-frontal Andrew Lincoln shower scene feature in the opening episode of This Life, which this Wednesday marks 30 years since it first aired. The BBC is marking the anniversary by rerunning the series with a new introduction from Daniela Nardini, who played the breakout heroine Anna, giving viewers a chance to revisit a drama that captured the hedonistic spirit of the Cool Britannia era.

Amy Jenkins conceived the show when BBC Two’s controller wanted a cooler drama about trainee lawyers; she agreed only if it avoided courtroom scenes and instead brought in the spirit of the rave scene. The series followed a group of law graduates sharing a shabby house near Southwark Bridge, and felt unusually radical for showing fairly privileged young people drinking, swearing, taking drugs and having sex, while also foregrounding themes such as therapy through the character Warren.

United Kingdom, Southwark Bridge

this life, daniela nardini, amy jenkins, andrew lincoln, bbc two, cool britannia, southwark bridge, temazepam, trainee lawyers, therapy