TV Tonight: What To Expect From Virdee

16 hours ago

All the details

This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more

A brand new Bradford-based crime drama will land on BBC One this evening, centring on a dedicated detective hot on the heels of a serial killer targeting the city’s Asian community. Here’s exactly what to expect from Virdee, plus when it’ll be on TV.

Virdee: Plot, Cast, Episodes & More

Harry Virdee (STAZ NAIR) in Virdee. (BBC/Magical Society/Sam Taylor)

What Will Happen?

‘Virdee is an elevated thriller set in the city of Bradford which introduces DCI Harry Virdee, a formidable police detective who likes to break the rules,’ says series creator, writer and executive producer A A Dhand. ‘But ultimately, he’ll do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of his city and his family.’

Virdee centres on DCI Harry Virdee (Staz Nair), a dedicated detective experiencing isolation in his home life. Hailing from a Sikh family, Harry was disowned by his family when he married Saima (Aysha Kala), a Muslim woman. Years later, he’s still struggling with the estrangement, especially now that his young son Aaron has started asking questions.

This is where we meet the cop in Virdee – and then he is pulled into a fateful serial killer investigation. According to the BBC’s synopsis: ‘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.

‘With his personal life in chaos, he must hunt down whoever is targeting those around him,’ the BBC continues. ‘Whilst the killer holds the entire city to ransom, Harry realises 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 is a beautiful blend of genres,’ says Staz Nair, who leads the series as Harry Virdee. ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen a series that combines a crime thriller with a family drama along with a heightened/Gotham-Esque storyline about gangland politics. I think it’s an exciting and adventurous way to tell the story. Beyond that, the story follows a cop who has been abandoned by his Sikh family for marrying the love of his life, Saima who is Muslim.

‘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,’ Nair adds. ‘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 Virdee (STAZ NAIR) & Saima Hyatt (AYSHA KALA) in Virdee. (BBC/Magical Society/Sam Taylor)

The Cast

Staz Nair as DCI Harry Virdee
Aysha Kala as Saima Virdee
Nina Singh as Tara Virdee
Vikash Bhai as Riaz Hyatt
Kulvinder Ghir as Ranjit Virdee
Sudha Buchar as Jyoti Virdee
Elizabeth Berrington as DS Clare Conway
Danyal Ismail as DS Amin
Tomi May as Enzo Tobin
Andi Jashy as Vasil Shala
Tobias Jowett as young Harry
Jack Archer as Alastair Boardman
Hussina Raja as Nadia Ansari
Connor Horrigan as Viktor
Madiha Ansari
Charlie Mann
Jason Patel
Conor Lowson
Rupert Procter
Oleksandra Palii

‘It’s an absolute honour to be taking on this vibrant and complex story about assimilating culture and what we’re willing to do to protect who and what we love,’ lead star Staz Nair says. ‘This show leads with vulnerability more than any detective drama I’ve ever seen, and it’s a privilege to be bringing AA Dhand’s hope for his city to life.’

Saima Hyatt (AYSHA KALA), Harry Virdee (STAZ NAIR) & Jyoti Virdee (SUDHA BHUCHAR). (BBC/Magical Society/Vishal Sharma)

Is Virdee Based On A True Story?

No, Virdee thankfully isn’t based on a true story – but the series is instead based on the series of crime novels written by A A Dhand. Dhand’s Harry Virdee series is made up of four novels and a prequel novella:

Streets of Darkness (2016)
Girl Zero (2017)
City of Sinners (2018)
One Way Out (2019)
Darkness Rising (2020) – a novella prequel to Streets of Darkness

In particular, Virdee is based on Dhand’s third book, City of Sinners – ‘but I do borrow little snippets from some of the other books,’ he tells the BBC.

While Bradford has never been plagued by the serial killer we see in Virdee, Dhand drew on the city heavily when writing his novels. Having grown up in Bradford, the writer returned to the West Yorkshire ex-industrial city to open a pharmacy and start working on his novels after beginning his career as a pharmacist in London.

Commenting on the cast of Virdee, Dhand said: ‘A truly diverse cast, with an abundance of talent but most importantly, real passion for this show. Staz Nair brings Harry Virdee authentically to life not only with a real physical presence but also an emotional depth that instantly resonated with us all.’

Riaz Hyatt (VIKASH BHAI) with a Bradford backdrop

Riaz Hyatt (VIKASH BHAI) in Virdee. (BBC/Magical Society/David Gennard)

Where Was Virdee Filmed?

Virdee is set and filmed entirely in Bradford – serendipitously the UK’s 2025 city of culture, with the series featuring in the city’s celebrations. ‘I selected most of the locations used in the series because I wanted to show my city off!’ Dhand tells the BBC. ‘I wanted to show the contrast between old Bradford and new Bradford. We go to City Park, where we have the biggest water fountains there are in England with the beautiful megastructure, which is new, fresh, colourful and vibrant. This is juxtaposed in the series with the nightmarish ruins and mills that haven’t been used for decades.

‘There’s so much history in these mills, too,’ Dhand says. ‘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.

‘For example, if something dark was happening we’d be in a mill and if something beautiful and light was happening, we’d be in City Park or Lister Park,’ Dhand adds. ‘Bradford is a really beautiful city.’