BBC British British Drama Drama Soap Opera

Empire Road was the first serious attempt at a long-running drama on British television addressing Britain's growing multi-racial society and sought, like soap operas such as Coronation Street (ITV, 1960-), to accurately depict reality with a combination of drama, comedy and tragedy. Structured around the Bennett family, who live in the symbolically named Empire Road in the heart of multi-racial Birmingham, the series brought together some of the leading black actors of the day, extending settings and scenes which had hitherto only be seen in one-off plays.