The Fear is a five-part television drama produced for Thames Television by its subsidiary company Euston Films.Transmitted on ITV in 1988, The Fear is the story of Carl Galton (Iain Glen), the enterprising leader of a criminal gang running a protection racket in North London. Young and ambitious, Galton represents a new breed of criminal who seeks to expand his underworld empire and takes on the old East End firms.

1980's materialism clashes with old school London villainy as Galton rises to power, yet his ruthlessness carries a personal cost, especially on his wife Linda and best friend Marty.