Sitting in Limbo
Former Casualty actor Patrick Robinson plays a man fighting to stay in the UK…
MONDAY 8 June 8.30pm BBC1 Drama
Former Casualty star Patrick Robinson and National Treasure’s Nadine Marshall play a couple, Anthony and Janet, in this one-off Windrush scandal drama, which is based on real events. Anthony Bryan, originally from Jamaica, finds himself forced to leave his job, unable to claim benefits and detained as an illegal immigrant, despite having lived in Britain since 1965.
Anthony Bryan moved to the UK in 1965 at the age of eight. But in 2016, after applying for a passport to visit his ailing mother in Jamaica, Anthony was stunned to discover there was no record of him as a British citizen.
Despite having lived and worked in London for over 50 years, the onus was now on Anthony to prove his status to the Home
Office. Forced to leave his job and unable to claim benefits,
Anthony was then forcibly removed from his home and detained as an illegal immigrant.
Anthony’s story is told in new one-off drama Sitting in Limbo.
‘Anthony told me that being in that detention centre nearly broke him,’ says former Casualty actor Patrick Robinson, who plays him. ‘That was all I needed to know for me to take on board everything he went through in order to play him. In the film, I’m only pretending to be in
there – he actually lived it.
Ordeal
‘Whatever is thrown at him, we see Anthony remain calm and dignified at all times. I have so much respect for him.’
Supported throughout his ordeal by partner Janet (Nadine Marshall,
Save Me), his daughter, Eileen (Pippa Bennett-warner, Motherfatherson), and his son, Gary (CJ Beckford, Victoria),
Anthony’s story is at the heart of what has
since become known as the
Windrush immigration scandal.
‘This story highlights how the British government systematically created a hostile environment for dealing with people who don’t have much power,’ says Patrick. ‘Anthony’s just an ordinary guy who’s dealing with injustice. But his is just one story – there are hundreds, thousands of these stories. I’m very proud of this film and I think people in the UK need to see it.’