Divided We Fall is an exciting new radio drama serial that looks at the contemporary issues of violent extremism and how young people can get sucked into it. Paralleling the radicalisation of a young Muslim Asian boy (Ibrahim) and a white ex soldier returning from Afghanistan (Jonno), the drama explores what makes people vulnerable to extremist views and what alternatives there might be.

The Drama has been commissioned by Shahbash, a not-for-profit-organisation working in Muslim communities across Lancashire, with funding support from the Home Office. The drama is being made by a Manchester-based production company, Mannmade Productions. The series consists of 20 x eight minute episodes and will be broadcast on Preston FM (103.2 FM) weekdays from Monday 1st February to Friday 26th Feb at 9.50 pm, with an omnibus of the week’s episodes each Sunday morning at 09.15am.

The cast is lead by Vincent Ebrahim (Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No 42) and Mina Anwar (Sarah Jane Adventures).

The story

Ibrahim Chaudrey is a Muslim teenager who was going off the rails until his non-Muslim girlfriend, Paris, pulled him back and got him onto a college course. Dad Ali and Mum Tasneem are very excited about the arrival of Omar, the young man who rescued Ibrahim from a gang of white thugs and was imprisoned for manslaughter as a result. Omar is a hero in their eyes and they have invited him to live at home with them on his release from prison, until he gets settled. Everyone in the Chaudrey family is thrilled. Except Anan, that is, Ibrahim’s sister, who has had to move out of her room into a box room, to accommodate Omar. Anan has her own problems – she’s just been offered a place at Cambridge – but doesn’t know how to tell her mum, who cannot bear the thought of Anan moving away.

Ali runs a local taxi firm. Tasneem, his wife, and her non-Muslim friend, Shirl – a single mother who works for Ali, run a makeshift crèche in the taxi back offices. The crèche is groundbreaking because it is the only one in the area that brings together white and Asian women and children, breaking down the barriers that have developed over the years. The success of the crèche means that the two friends badly need bigger premises and more money to meet demand.

Omar quickly befriends impressionable Ibrahim and encourages him to observe his religion more and behave in keeping with a devout young Muslim man. Ali and Tasneem are delighted at how their son changes, but they do not know that behind the scenes, Omar has been radicalised in prison and is pushing Ibrahim to take more and more extreme views, selectively quoting the Koran to prove his points. Ibrahim swallows it all, soon dumping his girlfriend, Paris and chasing Asian drug dealers off the streets.

At the same time, Shirl has her own problems. Her son Jonno has seen service in Afghanistan, but was invalided out with psychiatric problems. He is unable to find a job, is cut off from his old life and clearly still traumatised by his wartime experiences. He soon falls under the influence of Frank Tanner, an extreme right wing activist who has split from the BNP (because he thinks the BNP are not Right Wing enough for him) and has formed his own ultra right party, the National Democratic Party or NDP for short). He gets Jonno into running drug dealers off the streets and campaigning for the NDP.

Alongside this, Carl, Jonno’s mixed race younger half brother, secretly fancies Anan and tries to get her to go out with him. Anan is increasingly frustrated by her parent’s view that she is not a ‘proper’ Muslim daughter, unlike newly devout Ibrahim. In protest, she starts wearing a burqa and face veil, something her mother in particular is horrified by – she feels it will make her daughter a target for Islamaphobes and racists.

As we see Jonno and Ibrahim drift further along the course of radicalisation, it is the multicultural crèche that acts as catalyst. When the crèche gets a council grant, both Omar and Tanner are furious and determine to stop it because racial harmony is in neither of their interests. They both tell their new recruits to plant an incendiary device in the new building and make it look as if it was planted by the ‘other side’.

Meanwhile, Paris, who is Tanner’s daughter, is growing bitter and resentful, now that Ibrahim has dumped her and Anan has less time for her as she becomes more interested in Islam.

Jonno sees Anan in her burqa and has a traumatic fit, where he attacks her. We discover that he lost his best friend to a suicide bomb detonated by a woman in a burqa.

By now, Anan has realised what Omar is up to and tries to persuade her brother he is being used and mislead. Whether she will succeed is open to question.

Who if any will succeed in putting a stop to the crèche?

The whole build up to the opening of the new crèche gets out of hand with unpredictable and ghastly results.

 

Meet the cast

Mina Anwar & Vincent Ebrahim Mina Anwar plays the part of Tasneem, the wife of Ali. Together they head the Choudrey family who originally come from Pakistan.

Mina has also starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures and the Thin Blue Line

Vincent Ebrahim plays the Choudrey husband, Ali. He has also starred in Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No 42

Conor Alexander & Shireen Farkhoy Conor Alexander plays the part of Ibrahim, the younger of two sons in the Choudrey family. (His elder brother works for the Red Crescent in Afghanistan). Ibrahim was saved from being beaten up by white thugs by Omar whom he idolises and readily goes along with his extremist grooming. Conor has also appeared in Bad Girls, Brookside and Eastenders.

Shireen Farkhoy plays the part of Paris, Ibrahim’s girlfriend. She persuaded him to give up gang life and join her at college. Shireen has also appeared in Waterloo Road

Sushil Chudasama & Hema Mangoo Sushil Chudasama plays the part of Omar who was sent to prison for manslaughter after defending Ibrahim from white racist thugs, one of whom gets killed in the struggle. Formerly a liberal Sunni Muslim he has had extremist ideas implanted in him whilst in prison.

Sushil has also appeared in Coronation Street.

Hema Mangoo plays the part of Anan, Ibrahim’s younger sister and the really bright member of the family, who has been offered a place at Cambridge. It is Anan who rumbles Omar and exposes his extremist interpretation of the Koran.

Hema has also appeared in Hollyoaks, Doctors and Silver Street.

John Catterall & Denise Black John Catterall plays the part of Jonno, a disturbed character trying to get on top of his demons. He returns from a military psychiatric hospital having been invalided out of the army after his best friend was blown up in front of him by a woman suicide bomber in a black burka.

John has also appeared in Holby City and Peak Practise.

Denise Black plays the part of Shirley, Jonno’s mother - a single mother who lives on the white side of the estate. She does her best to comfort Jonno and also look after her younger son, Carl whose father was Jamaican. Shirl also crosses the racial divide by being great friends with Tasneem. She works for Ali in his taxi office

Denise has also appeared in The Bill, Casualty, Doc Martin and Coronation Street..

Shireen Farkhoy & Reece Noi

Reece Noi plays the part of Carl, Shirley’s youngest son from a Jamaican father (seen here comforting Paris after she has been dumped by Ibrahim)

Reece has also appeared in Emmerdale and Doctors

Kevin Doyle Kevin Doyle plays the part of the brooding, racist thug, Frank Tanner. He has a blind hatred of Asian Muslims and will do anything he can to run them out of the country.

He even forms his own right wing party, The National Democratic Party (NDP).

Whilst in prison he leads a group that tries to beat up Omar (who was saved by the extremists that he now follows)

20 years or so ago he had an affair with Shirley and it could be that Jonno is his son....

Kevin has also appeared in The Lakes, Foyle’s war, Midsummer Murders and At Home with the Braithwaites

Aaron Rochford & Darren Kuppan Aaron Rochford plays the part of Tariq, a cousin of Ibrahim. Tariq and Abu are drug dealers on the estate and are shocked when Ibrahim tries to clean them up.

Aaron has also appeared in The Grimleys.

Darren Kuppan plays the part of Abu, also a cousin of Ibrahim. Together with Tariq they are usually up to no good.

Darren has also appeared in Spooks and Emmerdale.

The professional cast were supplemented by students from the Preston focus groups who played a key part in shaping the dialogue and content.

 

The programmes were recorded in the drama studios of BBC Manchester.
BBC Technical production was by Sharon Hughes and Celia Hutchison

Production credits

The composer was Kev Curtis and the production manager, Val Wallace.
It was edited by Mike Thornton and the executive producer was Christopher Mann.
The programmes were devised by the Preston Community group, Shahbash.

Divided we Fall was written by Mike Harris and produced by Polly Thomas,
and was a Mannmade Production.

Contact

Listeners who would like to follow up any of the issues raised in this drama can go to the accompanying website (Live from the first transmission):
www.talktotaz.co.uk

Alternatively they can TEXT TO TAZ on 07545 917148

Notes to editors

More information and high resolution stills available from Mannmade Productions – info@mannmade.co.uk – 0161 427 0640

Preston FM is run and managed by Preston Community Arts Project (PRESCAP). Established in 1985, Preston based PRESCAP is a catalyst for change: enabling people to explore, realise and value their full potential through creativity. PRESCAP creates and delivers dynamic arts projects with people, supporting urban regeneration and community development.