Prisoner 951
| Prisoner 951 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | A Yard of Sky by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe |
| Screenplay by | Stephen Butchard |
| Directed by | Philippa Lowthorpe |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 57 minutes |
| Production company | Dancing Ledge Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 23 November – 1 December 2025 |
Prisoner 951 is a British factual drama television series, starring Narges Rashidi as British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe imprisoned on spying charges for six years in Iran, and Joseph Fiennes as her husband Richard Ratcliffe. The series premiered on BBC One on 23 November 2025 in four parts, and was released in five parts on SBS Television in Australia in March 2026.
Synopsis
British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran as she was returning to the UK from a family visit in 2016. Forced to leave her 22-month-old daughter with her mother, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held for six years on spying charges prior to her release and return to the United Kingdom.[1][2] The series is critical of the British Government's response.[3]
Cast and characters
- Narges Rashidi as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
- Joseph Fiennes as Richard Ratcliffe
- Bijan Daneshmand as Baba, Nazanin's father
- Behi Djanati Atai as Mamani, Nazanin's mother
- Ella Varavipour, Mana Sayyah and Ava Rose as Gabriella, Nazanin and Richard's daughter
- Nicholas Farrell as John Ratcliffe, Richard's father
- Marion Bailey as Barbara Ratcliffe, Richard's mother
- Farzana Dua Elahe as Tulip Siddiq MP
- Sam Troughton as Oliver Denton, Siddiq's assistant
- Catherine Bailey as Rebecca Ratcliffe, Richard's sister
- Kavé Niku as Mohammad Zaghari, Nazanin's brother
- Astrid Whettnall as Monique Villa
- Claudia Harrison as Penny Madden
- Ash Goldeh as Interrogator Darvish
- Alastair Mackenzie as Tobias Ellwood MP
- Christopher Colquhoun as James Cleverly MP
- Vivienne Gibbs as Liz Truss MP
- Armin Karima as Seyed, Nazanin's guard/escort
- Melika Foroutan as Narges Mohammadi
Production
The series is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and written by Stephen Butchard, based on the upcoming book A Yard of Sky about their experiences of the arrest and the campaign for her release, by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe.[5]
The cast is led by Narges Rashidi as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Joseph Fiennes as her husband Richard Ratcliffe.[6]
The series is produced by Fremantle's Dancing Ledge Productions, with Fremantle handling international sales. Filming took place in Greece and the United Kingdom.[7]
Release
The series aired in four parts on BBC One and BBC iPlayer[8][9] on 23 November 2025.[10]
It aired on SBS Television and SBS on Demand in Australia from 4 March 2026, in five parts of 45 minutes each.[2][11]
Reception
Phil Harrison of The Guardian gave the series 4 out of 5 stars, praising the "excellent" performances as well as the script.[10]
RadioTimes described Prisoner 951 as a "powerful, unflinching piece of drama". The Observer and The Independent praised both Fiennes' and Rashidi's performances.[2]
In her detailed review of the series, Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was herself imprisoned in Iran under similar circumstances from September 2018 to November 2020 and had met Zaghari-Ratcliffe briefly in prison, wrote: "Objectively, as a piece of television, Prisoner 951 is well-acted and thoughtfully shot—intimate when it needs to be, and appropriately expansive when exploring the broader themes of Zaghari-Ratcliffe's story".[3]
Accolades
For her role, Rashidi won Best Actress at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2026.[12] She also won Leading Actress at the British Academy Television Awards.[13] Úna Ní Dhonghaíle won for editing at the British Academy Television Craft Awards.[14]
References
- ^ Pickard, Michael (1 October 2025). "BBC releases Prisoner 951 first look". Drama Quaterley. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ a b c "The power of enduring love is at the heart of true-life drama 'Prisoner 951'". SBS What's On. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ^ a b Moore-Gilbert, Kylie (20 February 2026). "What a Gripping BBC Drama Gets Wrong About Tehran Prison Life". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
- ^ Hibbs, James. "Prisoner 951 cast | Narges Rashidi and Joseph Fiennes star". Radio Times.
- ^ Sayce, Rebecca (2 October 2025). "BBC unveils first look at "powerful" new drama and it's based on an "extraordinary true story"". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ "Narges Rashidi and Joseph Fiennes star in series about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe". East Anglian Daily Times. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ "Narges Rashidi, Joseph Fiennes lead Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama". Televisual.com. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Anderton, Joe (7 November 2025). "Watch the tense trailer for Gangs of London star's BBC drama based on a "heart-stopping" true story". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ "BBC announces Narges Rashidi and Joseph Fiennes as leads in Prisoner 951, a powerful new drama that follows the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe, alongside first-look images". BBC News. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ a b Harrison, Phil (23 November 2025). "Prisoner 951 review – this defiant Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama makes Britain look ridiculous". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- ^ "Watch Episode 5: Season 1 Episode 5". Stream free on SBS On Demand. 1 December 2025. Archived from the original on 1 April 2026. Retrieved 1 April 2026.
- ^ "Adolescence star Owen Cooper takes two RTS Awards". BBC News. 25 March 2026. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ^ Glanfield, Tim. "Bafta TV Awards 2026: 11 nods for Adolescence proves British drama is still hard to beat". The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ^ "Irish talent honoured at BAFTA TV Craft Awards". RTÉ. 27 April 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
External links
- Prisoner 951 at IMDb
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