I'd forgotten John Nightingale completely, un-named guest, and I don't know the answer. Haven't seen in him anything for years. (I'm assuming he was the coalminer son, rather than the doctor(?) son.)

I can help with guest Jim's query a little bit. Jack Ford, the wheeler-dealer, union rep and ultimately bootlegger, was indeed played by James Bolam. Bolam's wife Susan Jamison (note spelling) played Jessie Seaton. The put-upon matriarch of the Seaton family was played by Jean Heywood. Can't remember the character's first name.(Anyone know if she was Pat Heywood's sister?) Her husband was played by James Garbutt.

Folkies will be interested to note that the singer Isla St Clair (sp?) appeared in at least one series, maybe the last, as an aristocratic type. The only other actor I can remember being in it was Malcolm Terris, whose character was called Matt Headley. When we lived in Hamstead, Terris lived nearby and was often in the shops - I didn't know his name then, and still thought of him as Matt Headley, 20 years after the series! He was regularly in work and appearing on (UK) tv screens until the mid-90s, playing a chief constable among other parts. But again, not for a while now, I think.

Thread creep: Jean Heywood was later in a one-off BBC play about a school trip, along with Alun Armstrong and Elizabeth Estensen. Can anyone remember any more about that production?