Prisoner 951; Changing Ends

“If Prisoner 951 is anything then it’s a Solzhenitsyn-esque study in resilience, both on her part, but also that of her husband Richard Ratcliffe (an intense and moving performance by Joseph Fiennes), their daughter Gabriella (charmingly played by Mana Sayyah in her youth and Ava Rose later on) and their families (with Nicholas Farrell supplying a reliably upper middle class father-in-law). The excruciating passage of time is captured brilliantly, and you lose count of the number of times Nazanin is tormented by dashed hopes.”
Sean O’Grady, The Independent

“This is a political story and a love story and a difficult one to tell — complex, protracted and with the two main protagonists rarely in the same room, but 3,300 miles apart, the family flat in London starkly contrasting with the dank squalor of her cell, though her conditions improved later when she was moved to a different prison and was supported by fellow female inmates. But it is a story told well, and intelligently, the nightmarish reality that at the drop of a hat an ordinary, oblivious person can be hijacked as a political bargaining chip and their life simply shredded.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Representing the human trauma at the heart of this perfect, deadly storm is a challenge. Stephen Butchard’s script makes the best of snatched, long-distance conversations between Nazanin, Richard and their infant daughter Gabriella, the blankness of her captors, the casual harshness of her (female) guards and the bewilderment of the British diplomats attempting to engage with the case. Its success rests upon communicating a sense of the couple’s tormented internality during this period.”
Phil Harrison, The Guardian

“If you have any doubts about the sort of people who run Iran, last night’s first episode of four should settle the matter. Narges Rashidi played Nazanin, and very convincing she was too. It was almost like watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary.”
Roland White, Daily Mail

“Episode one is gripping. The following three episodes are less so as they focus on the political elements of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention, but they provide context.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“The third series of Changing Ends, Alan Carr’s semi-autobiographical comedy, remains a pure delight. It’s light as a feather and all the better for it. The writing is smart and the jokes are a mile a minute, but it’s Oliver Savell’s performance that seals it. His mastery of the character is total.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Carr essentially serves up a nostalgic portion of Britain and a nice little world of characters who make for joyful company and to whom you want to return time and time again. Which is exactly what a sitcom should do.”
Carol Midgley, The Times