''Ridley Road'' is a British four-part television drama which premiered on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 3 October 2021, about Jewish opposition to British Fascism in the 1960s. It was adapted by

Sarah Solemani Sarah Solemani (born 4 September 1982) is an English actress, writer and activist. She is best known for starring in the BAFTA winning sitcom ''Him & Her'' and playing Renee Zellweger's best friend Miranda in ''Bridget Jones's Baby'', for which ...

from Jo Bloom's 2014 novel of the same name. The series is directed by Lisa Mulcahy and the executive producer is

Nicola Shindler Nicola Shindler (born 8 October 1968) is a British television producer and executive, and founder of the independent television drama production company Quay Street Productions, having founded and run Red Production Company from 1998 to 2020. S ...

Plot summary

Vivien Epstein is the daughter in a traditional suburban 1960s Manchester Jewish family, comprising father David, mother Liza and a relative Roza whom the family is sheltering. The father arranges a marriage (with neither Vivien's desire nor her consent) with the father of a local Jewish boy. Vivien already has a beau, Jack, who leaves for London, desolate. Vivien has no intention of becoming a bride. She leaves to find some Jewish relatives in London, rents a room with non-Jewish East End resident Nettie Jones, and gets a job as a hairdresser in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

. Far-right fascism is on the rise. One of her East End relatives, Soly Malinovsky, is a London

black cab A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or London taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common si ...

driver who heads a Jewish anti-fascist group. He asks Vivien to get involved ("anti-fascists do, they don't just say"). She agrees to infiltrate the organisation of Colin Jordan, the neo-Nazi leader of the East End thugs. Jordan's organisation (where Jack is already undercover) is based in the country mansion of a far-right English aristocrat. Vivien affects a relationship with Jordan and his young son, and she allows Jordan to seduce her. However, both Vivien and Jack have their cover blown and are both in danger of being killed, but they each separately manage hair-raising escapes, Vivien taking a suitcase of incriminating documents that prove that Jordan has set up an illegal training camp for a neo-Nazi militia. (The police agree to investigate and prosecute Jordan.) Vivien's parents, who were devastated at her abandonment of the family home and the arranged betrothal, are now very proud of her anti-fascist work. After a tearful family reunion, Vivien flies off to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

with Jack.

Cast

Agnes O'Casey Agnes Eustacia Kenig (born 1995/1996), known professionally as Agnes O'Casey, is an English actor. She is known for her onscreen debut as Vivien Epstein in the 2021 BBC One drama '' Ridley Road''. Early life O'Casey is from Finsbury Park, the e ...

as Vivien Epstein *

Tom Varey Tom Varey is a British actor. He is known for his roles in '' Pond Life'', ''No Offence'' and '' Ridley Road''. Early life Varey grew up in Mossley, Greater Manchester. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for three years from 2011 ...

as Jack Morris *

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2014, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of William S ...

Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the st ...

, leader of the

British Movement The British Movement (BM), later called the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM), is a British neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequentl ...

* Romane Portail as Jordan's wife,

Françoise Dior Marie Françoise Suzanne Dior (7 April 1932 – 20 January 1993) was a French socialite and neo-Nazi underground financier. She was the niece of French fashion designer Christian Dior and Resistance fighter Catherine Dior, who publicly distance ...

Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has feature ...

as Soly Malinovsky, Vivien's uncle *

Tracy-Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie V ...

as his wife, Nancy Malinovsky * Danny Sykes as their son, Ronnie Malinovsky *

Samantha Spiro Samantha Spiro (born 20 June 1968) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Barbara Windsor in the stage play ''Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick'' and the television films ''Cor, Blimey!'' and ''Babs'', DI Vivien Frie ...

as Vivien's mother, Liza Epstein *

Will Keen Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

as Vivien's father, David Epstein * Julia Krynke as Roza, a relative of the Epsteins *

Tamzin Outhwaite Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, including ...

as Barbara, who manages the hairdressing salon in Soho that Vivien works at * Gabriel Akuwudike as Barbara's son, Stevie *

Rita Tushingham Rita Tushingham (born 14 March 1942) is an English actress. She is known for her starring roles in films including ''A Taste of Honey'' (1961), ''The Leather Boys'' (1964), '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), ...

as Nettie Jones, Vivien's landlady *

Allan Corduner Allan Corduner (; born 2 April 1950) is a British actor. Born in Stockholm to a German mother and a Russo-Finnish father, Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in London. After earning a BA (Hons) in English and Drama at Bristol Universit ...

as Rabbi Lehrer *

Nigel Betts Nigel Betts is an English actor, who from 2003 to 2007 appeared on the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' as Eddie Hope. He also portrayed Tony in the BBC Two sitcom '' Boy Meets Girl'' and had a recurring role as Mr Armitage in the eighth series of ' ...

as Mr Gary Burns * Hannah Traylen as Chrissy *

Danny Hatchard Danny-Boy Hatchard (born 26 July 1991) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Lee Carter in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Hatchard's other credits include Aaron in the 2014 film ''We Still Kill the Old Way'' and Steven Pierce ...

as Lee * Hannah Onslow as Elise *

Stephen Hogan Stephen Hogan is an Irish actor and audiobook narrator. Biography Hogan was born in August 1965 and grew up in Darty, Dublin, Ireland. Hogan says he studied architecture at Edinburgh University but upon graduating did not see himself in tha ...

as American Nazi leader

George Lincoln Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell (March 9, 1918 – August 25, 1967) was an American far-right political activist and founder of the American Nazi Party. He later became a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs, st ...

Production

The series was filmed in

Ashton under Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and at Broughton Hall near

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

Episodes

Reception

Gillean Craig, for the ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

'', was unimpressed, saying: "The plot is paper-thin, and the pile-up of improbabilities is too great. This is a lost opportunity: the theme deserves a far more rigorous head as well as heart."

Lucy Mangan Lucy Katherine Mangan''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian''. A major part of her writing is related t ...

, in a three-starred review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', said: "The direction feels strangely stilted and the dialogue flimsy, the script never quite first-class. The parts set in the hairdresser’s where Vivien gets a job are almost cartoonish, and the relentless salt-of-the-earthiness of everyone born in the East End becomes quite grating. Still, even if you might wish it exhibited a bit more complexity and artistic refinement, it is a drama with resonance. It has the right story to tell – alas – in our current dark age. Carol Midgley, for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', gave it four stars, saying "What makes Ridley Road a joy to watch is not only the stellar cast, but the storytelling... It is beautifully crafted, weaving in archive footage, making it look as if Vivien is actually in Sixties London." Reviewing ''Ridley Road'' for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Ed Cumming said: "By setting a made-up story within accurate historical context, Solemani gives herself plenty of freedom, and takes advantage of the licence. Ridley Road is an action thriller as well as a period piece, with chases, fights and romance to go with its political context... The contemporary parallels are so near to the surface that there’s no need to lay them on too thickly. Instead, Ridley Road shows that extremism needn’t arise out of extraordinary situations. It emerges from everyday life."

References

External links

Official website
*{{IMDb title, tt10948746 *Bloom, J
Ridley Road
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Anti-fascism in the United Kingdom British thriller television series Dalston 2021 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 2020s British drama television series 2020s British television miniseries BBC television dramas English-language television shows Television series based on actual events Television series based on novels Television series by Red Production Company Television shows set in London Television shows based on British novels Television series about neo-Nazism Television shows shot in Liverpool