''Three Girls'' is a three-part

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television drama series, written by screenwriter Nicole Taylor, and directed by

Philippa Lowthorpe Philippa Lowthorpe (born 27 December 1961) is an English film and television director. She was awarded the Deluxe Director Award at the WFTV Film and Television Awards for the miniseries '' Three Girls''. She recently directed episodes of the ...

, broadcast on three consecutive nights between 16 and 18 May 2017 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 ...

. A co-production between

BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...

and Studio Lambert, the series is a dramatised version of the events surrounding the

Rochdale child sex abuse ring The Rochdale child sex abuse ring involved underage teenage girls in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Nine men were convicted of sex trafficking and other offences including rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual ...

, and describes how the authorities failed to investigate allegations of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses. ''Three Girls'' drew a strong viewing audience upon its first broadcast, with 8.24 million viewers for episode one, 7.88 million for episode two and 8.19 million for episode three. The series was released on DVD in Region 2 on 8 January 2018. A BBC documentary on the case, ''The Betrayed Girls'', was broadcast on 3 July 2017 as a follow-up to the drama.

Plot

The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims: fourteen-year-old Holly Winshaw (

Molly Windsor Molly Windsor (born 19 June 1997) is an English actress. Her breakthrough role was in the 2009 Channel 4 television film ''The Unloved'', and has appeared in ''Oranges and Sunshine'' (2010), and '' The Runaways'' (2019). She is best known for her ...

), sixteen-year-old Amber Bowen (Ria Zmitrowicz) and her younger sister Ruby (

Liv Hill Liv Hill (born 22 June 2000) is a British actress. She received accolades for her roles in the BBC miniseries '' Three Girls'' (2017) and the films ''Jellyfish'' and ''The Little Stranger'' (2018). She has since appeared in '' The Fight'' (20 ...

); although the focus later shifts to sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham (

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Mart ...

), the main whistleblower who drew attention to the case after repeated pleas for help from social services and the police fell on deaf ears. DC

Margaret Oliver Margaret Oliver (born 23 October 1955) is an English former Detective Constable with the Greater Manchester Police. She is known as a whistleblower for exposing the poor handling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring case by her own force. Law en ...

(

Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include ''Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and ''Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actres ...

), the lead investigator on the case, manages to gain the support of her superior officer, Sandy Guthrie ( Jason Hughes) to instigate a full-blown investigation. However, despite significant evidence, the CPS decided to drop the case because of an “unrealistic prospect of conviction”. After Margaret convinces Amber Bowen to testify against her former boyfriend, Tariq (Wasim Zakir), the case is re-opened by recently appointed public prosecutor

Nazir Afzal Nazir Afzal (born October 1962, Birmingham) is a British solicitor and former prosecutor within the Crown Prosecution Service. Afzal spent most of his career in the Crown Prosecution Service, rising to be Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West ...

(

Ace Bhatti Ahsen Rafiq "Ace" Bhatti (born 13 September 1969) is a British actor who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has appeared in numerous television series, including ''Cardiac Arrest'', '' Holding On'', '' NCS: Manhunt'', '' ...

), who with the assistance of the police and the victims involved, manages to secure convictions against ten men involved in the ring. Rowbotham, Oliver, and Afzal all acted as consultants on the series.

Cast

as Sara Rowbotham *

as DC

as Holly Winshaw * Ria Zmitrowicz as Amber Bowen *

as Ruby Bowen *

Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is known for his portrayals of shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on '' The Sunday Show'', New York lawyer Mike Strutter on MTV's '' Strutter'', Thoros of Myr in HBO's ''Game ...

as Jim Winshaw *

Jill Halfpenny Jill Halfpenny (born 15 July 1975) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Rebecca Hopkins in ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2000), Kate Mitchell in BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2002–2005), Izzie Redpath in '' ...

as Julie Winshaw * Bo Bragason as Rachel Winshaw *

Lisa Riley Lisa Jane Riley (born 13 July 1976) is an English actress and television presenter. Riley portrayed Mandy Dingle in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' between 1995 and 2001, and again from 2019. She also replaced Jeremy Beadle as ...

as Lorna Bowen *

Naomi Radcliffe Naomi Radcliffe (born 1971) is an English actress. She was born in Oldham, Lancashire to Albert Radcliffe—a Canon of Manchester Cathedral—and Petrina, a teacher. She was educated at The Blue Coat School in Oldham and the Royal Welsh College ...

as Yvonne * Jason Hughes as DC Sandy Guthrie * Rupert Procter as DC Jack Harrop * Ross Anderson as PC Richard Bryan * Antonio Aakeel as Immy * Wasim Zakir as Tariq * Zee Sulleyman as Billy * Simon Nagra as Daddy

Episodes

Link to Finsbury Park attack

In June 2017, a terrorist attack was launched against mosque-goers in Finsbury Park. The attacker, Darren Osborne, used a van to run over Muslim pedestrians, killing one man and injuring several others. In the course of the trial, it was remarked that Osborne developed an obsession with Muslims after watching ''Three Girls''.

Reception

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Girls (Tv Series) 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British crime television series 2010s British drama television series BBC high definition shows BBC television docudramas British crime drama television series British Pakistani mass media 2010s British television miniseries Child sexual abuse in England Child abuse in television English-language television shows History of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale Rape in television Television series by All3Media Television series set in the 2000s Television shows set in Greater Manchester Television shows scored by Natalie Holt