The Mail on Sunday

Small Axe: Alex Wheatle

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BBC1, 9pm The penultimat­e drama in Steve McQueen’s series follows the early life of Alex Wheatle (Sheyi Cole, right) in the 1970s and 1980s, as he was thrown from a traumatic upbringing in care homes onto the streets of London. He spent time in prison after the 1981 Brixton uprising, before becoming a successful novelist.

McQueen’s unrelentin­g reminder of the casual racism in Britain is leavened by the depiction of a closely knit Afro-Caribbean community in Brixton. Occasional­ly heavyhande­d and flat moments in the script mean that this doesn’t quite achieve the heights of earlier films in the series.

However, Cole’s fine performanc­e provides the emotional anchor as we witness the transforma­tion of Wheatle from a naive youngster to the troubled yet more self-aware individual who finds creativity and purpose.

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