Shedding light on hidden history
Adaptation of novel based on real events
In 2015, a novel by Jo Bloom was published which shed light on efforts by the Jewish community in the East End of London as they fought against a rising wave of fascism during the Swinging Sixties, resulting in street battles around Ridley Road in the East End. It chronicles how 20-yearold Jewish hairdresser Vivien Epstein moved from her comfortable Manchester home to the bright lights of London, and it forms the basis for this fourpart thriller, which marks the television debut of Aggi O’Casey as Vivien.
She’s come to the capital to track down Jack Fox (played by Tom Varey), with whom she had a brief but intense romance. It transpires that he is a member of the 62 Group, a real-life organisation of Jewish men who stood up against rising fascism in post-war Britain. While working with them, Vivien learns that Jack has been badly injured.
As events unfold, Vivien transforms her appearance and infiltrates the NSM, a neo-Nazi movement which is becoming increasingly prominent in London. As she descends further into the fascist organisation, her courage and loyalties are tested to the limit.
Eddie Marsan, who has often spoken out on social media about the twin scourges of fascism and racism, said: “I’m honoured to be playing the role of Soly, the leader of the 62 Group of Jewish anti-fascists who took on the National Socialist Movement in Ridley Road.
“In recent years antiSemitism has re-emerged and now, more than ever, we need to hear the stories of how normal men and women put their lives on the line to stamp out this cancer.”
The supporting cast also includes Tamzin Outhwaite, Tracy-Ann Oberman and
Rory Kinnear, who is in particularly sinister form as NSM leader Colin Jordan, an imposing and forthright activist who, through his fanatical and passionate speeches, incites racism and rioting.
BBC One, Sunday, 9pm