Set and filmed in Bradford, Virdee tells the story of Detective Harry Virdee, a dedicated cop whose personal life is in chaos. He is in a loving relationship with his wife, Saima, but he is estranged from his family who disapprove of his interfaith marriage. A turf war is brewing in the underbelly of the city with the police losing its grip on gang rivalries as they spill out onto the streets of Bradford. When a young dealer is murdered, Harry’s duty to uphold the law clashes with his links to members of the crime gangs. He must hunt down whoever is targeting those around him. Whilst the killer holds the entire city to ransom, Harry realizes that he is going to need the help of his brother-in-law Riaz, a drugs kingpin who runs the largest cartel in the county. Pulled together in an alliance that could ruin them both, Harry must make a choice: save himself and his family or save his city. He will not be able to do both.
Virdee creator AA Dhand and cast reveal how the Bradford crime thriller is brought to life from book to screenSet and filmed in Bradford , Virdee tells the story of Detective Harry Virdee, a dedicated cop whose personal life is in chaos. He is in a loving relationship with his wife, Saima, but he is estranged from his family who disapprove of his interfaith marriage.
This was your first time adapting your books for screen and you wrote the scripts yourself. What has that experience been like? When I was writing the books I was always 50-50 on whether it should be Harry’s brother or Riaz so it just felt like a natural thing when I was adapting for screen, the thing I didn’t do in the book I could actually do for screen. I wanted to explore friendship, rather than family loyalty although ultimately the series is about a divided family.
There’s so much history in these mills too, around 200 years ago Bradford was one of the most powerful and richest cities in Europe – we made the curtains that were in the White House! You see the decline of that industry in those mills but then you get to see new Bradford with City Park and the vibrancy of that. I was trying to choose locations that fed into the story which had an emotional backdrop to them that could mirror what was happening on screen.
This experience is new to me so I thought it would be great to bring other local people on the same journey. It was also an opportunity to lift the profile of the show so that, yes, we’re making a high-end show, but how can we embrace the people that this is about that are from the city of Bradford. There’s no other way to explain it. It was just him and me and we had a conversation, explored each other’s lives and who we were, it was just a done deal. He just walked in as Harry Virdee and he’s done an incredible job. It’s the same with Aysha Kala for Saima, there was so much passion and belief for the show, and they had a lovely chemistry.
I really enjoyed speaking to her and hanging out with her because I just envy the freedom she has and how she lives in the here and now. There was a real difference between that third-generation vibe that I got from her and I thought ‘what a great future we’ve got for South Asians if this is the way we’re going, just freedom’. I really learnt something from her.
I’ve been a big BBC fan my whole life and I think the BBC is a brilliant platform for this programme. Virdee has been seven years in development and the BBC have kept going with me on this journey. I think from the moment I had written the books they were on board. It’s important to them and they’ve really championed it every step of the way.
When you become a writer, it’s quiet and it’s just you and your voice. I missed the human interaction that I had, just the hi/hellos/how are yous. This feeling of abandonment and displacement is starting to reach the surface as his son is starting to get older and he’s starting to realise what that might mean for his son. Simultaneously, there is a serial killer who is systematically attacking the South Asian community and Bradford as a whole. Harry’s love for his family and his city will be challenged as he may only get to choose one.Harry is a man who will protect what he loves and who he loves at any cost.
I was so blessed to take on this role of this size and with this level of legacy and cultural involvement, but it can feel quite daunting at first as there’s so much to understand, honour and respect.
Bradford was so welcoming, and everyone was so excited to part of it and understand what was going on, so I think that really inspired us all to continually put everything into it.Harry has a lot of love for his family, nothing is more important than his family to him and that’s the same for me. Harry’s job is also important to him and brings such a sense of identity in his life and brings a sense of purpose but there’s an inability to not bring it home.
Harry sees a lot of himself in his niece, Tara. Like Harry, she’s relentless and she’ll do whatever she needs to get to the root of the problem. There’s a lot of symbiosis between him and Tara and he respects her for it, but he’s also scared for her because of that. He’s worried she’ll put herself into situations without thinking.There’s really something for everyone! If you like thrillers, high stakes and twists, it’s for you.
Wissam, who plays Aaron was so sweet. He really loves boxing so anytime Staz was on set with him, he’d box with Staz which would keep him very happy. He also loved dancing, so we’d put some music on between takes and he’d dance on cue. He was the ultimate professional and you’d never know he was five years old.Saima is a nurse and both of my sisters-in-law are nurses. One of them works in A&E so I spoke to them about their jobs.
One of my favourite locations was Saima’s dad’s house because the people that lived there was so lovely while we were filming there – we’d talk to them, they made us tea and they kept us warm in their living room. It genuinely didn’t feel like I was working. It was lovely. Riaz isn't in the books, but his equivalent is, and that was the character I would have loved to play and so when the audition came through, I wanted it, so I had to get it! Complicated as all characters are, Riaz was the one who interested me the most!Bradford is a vibrant city, full of character - it’s a character in its own right in our show and the perfect backdrop for this story.
At the beginning of the series, there’s a wedding where she sees Harry again with his wife and it really hurts her. She wants to reach out to them and wants to be able to say, “you’re in my heart and you’re welcome in my life.” With Jyoti, there’s a lot of her not being able to say what is in her heart and that’s a journey she goes on.
She also does have a voice in the family, it’s not like she is passive. She chooses her moments, and I think in a lot of my scenes I had to portray the restraints, I had to find my words and work my way around a situation but then there are times that she finds her full voice as well, which is powerful. I enjoyed my scenes with Kulvinder as we played the push and pull of this dynamic.
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