Margi Clarke

This 1991 cult classic is about a single mother who boldly leaves her unhappy life and takes on an all-new career with an ex-stripper as her mentor.

In his first collaboration with Aki Kaurismäki, iconic French star Jean-Pierre Léaud proves a perfect fit for the director’s droll and deadpan, not-quite-comedy style. Absurd and existential, the London-set I Hired a Contract Killer is a rare and fascinating outsider’s view of late-80s Britain.

Two Merseyside girls escape their humdrum lives for a night on the town, where they meet two Russian sailors (Peter Firth, Spooks) and Alfred Molina (An Education) on shore leave. For Teresa (Margi Clarke), it's a welcome bit of fun, but for Elaine (Alexandra Pigg) it turns into much more. One of the key British films of the 1980s, Letter to Brezhnev is set against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Liverpool's club scene, one-night stands and a Europe still in the grip of the Cold War. Written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard (both of whom worked on Brookside) and starring a fresh young cast, it remains a hilarious and uplifting tale of how love and idealism can help ordinary people realise their dreams.

Italian stunner Sophie comes to Newcastle to open her `Academy for Seductive Arts' and finds that the local ladies are more than keen to put some oomph back into their lives, but their blokes are a bit bemused. Single mums, shop girls, housewives and white collar workers all enrol at the new course.