BBC One’s stellar story told by a stunning cast launches this Sunday

Last year we were lucky enough to host author Jo Bloom at our first ever book club, where she discussed her debut 2015 novel Ridley Road, which had just been commissioned for adaptation by the BBC. This Sunday the thrilling four-part drama is finally set to premier. The story is told from the perspective of a 20-year-old Jewish hairdresser from Manchester, Vivien Epstein, who moves to the East End to start a new life following the death of her father. After falling in love with a member of the 62 Group – a band of Jewish men who fought fascism on the streets of London in the early 1960s – she rejects her former middle-class comforts and joins the fight against fascism, risking everything for her beliefs and for the man she loves.

“There was a lot of controversy at the time about the tactics of the 62 Group because they were not afraid to use violence,” said writer and executive producer Sarah Solemani in a press statement. “A lot of them were ex-servicemen who had fought in the war, but when they came home, there were swastikas on the street because of freedom of speech laws. The logic of the 62 Group was, 'Well if the law isn’t on our side and we’re getting beaten while fascists are calling for our demise and destruction, then we have to physically protect ourselves and scare them away'.”

The award-winning cast features Agnes O’Casey in the lead as Vivien alongside love interest Jack Morris, played by Game of Thrones’ Tom Varey. Rory Kinnear depicts real-life neo-Nazi leader Colin Jordan, while Eddie Marsan's Soly Malinovsky leads the opposing 62 Group and is married to Tracy-Ann Oberman’s Nancy. Plus other strong women in Vivien’s life, including her mother Liza Epstein (Samantha Spiro), boss Barbara Watson (Tamzin Outhwaite) and landlady Nettie Jones (Rita Tushingham).

“I think Ridley Road is an important story to tell at this moment in time,” added Oberman, “because there's so much race hate and extremism that's happening. This story is a reminder of what happens when you allow racism, particularly antisemitism, to flourish.”

By Danielle Goldstein

Photos courtesy of BBC/Red Productions

Episode one of Ridley Road airs this Sunday 3 October on BBC One at 9pm and will be available to stream on iPlayer shortly after broadcast.