Cop’s caught between Iraq and a hard place

Channel 4 thriller to explore tales behind life in Baghdad

daughter Mrouj safe. But when he learns his estranged elder daughter Sawsan is missing, he’s forced into a desperate search to find her that leads him down a surprising path.

He soon discovers Sawsan has been leading a hidden life that’s led her into danger and her disappearmedication ance is linked to the murder of an American.

He finds himself caught up in a tale of murder and betrayal with troubling links to the Us-controlled Green Zone.

British-born actor July Namir, whose character Mrouj faces death without kidney dialysis, said she relished the opportunity to explore a character that was not a stereotype.

She revealed: “You hear stories, of course. I heard it from my mum and the TV, I had an Iraqi friend at secondary school but I had to do a lot of research. The sanctioning of [by the coalition]: they had medicine, they just didn’t give it to people. I didn’t know it was that bad.

“It was like illicitly dealing drugs, having to hide and buy it in secret. Really unwell people could not get painkillers. I can only imagine the frustration and sadness that came with that.” The drama is created by Stephen Butchard, who wrote House Of Saddam, and is due to air on Channel 4 in the coming weeks.

He revealed: “When we think of Baghdad in 2003 we think of it from a political or military point of view and we forget about the everyday experiences of the people on the ground.

“It was really important to us to present a true representation of what it felt like to be a young woman in Iraq at this time.”