Tilly Trotter was technically based on a trilogy of Cookson books. The titular heroine, played by Carli Norris, was a 19th century Northern lass accused of being a witch. Tilly was rescued from the wrath of the mob by local mine owner Mark Sopwith (Simon Shepherd), with whom she eventually fell in love. The first of the four 60-minute installments of Tilly Trotter was shown over Yorkshire Television on January 8, 1999.