Ridley Road
Vivien Epstein (Agnes O'Casey) is the daughter in a traditional suburban 1960s Manchester Jewish family, comprising father David (Will Keen), mother Liza (Samantha Spiro) and a relative Roza (Julia Krynke) whom the family is sheltering. The father arranges a marriage (with neither Vivien's desire nor her consent) with the father of a local Jewish boy. Vivien already has a beau, Jack (Tom Varey), who leaves for London, desolate. Vivien has no intention of becoming a bride. She leaves to find some Jewish relatives in London, rents a room with non-Jewish East End resident Nettie Jones (Rita Tushingham), and gets a job as a hairdresser in Soho. Far-right fascism is on the rise. One of her East End relatives, Soly Malinovsky (Eddie Marsan), is a London black cab driver who heads a Jewish anti-fascist group. He asks Vivien to get involved ("anti-fascists do, they don't just say"). She agrees to infiltrate the organization of Colin Jordan (Rory Kinnear, the neo-Nazi leader of the East End thugs. Jordan's organization (where Jack is already undercover) is based in the country mansion of a far-right English aristocrat. Vivien affects a relationship with Jordan and his young son, and she allows Jordan to seduce her. However, both Vivien and Jack have their cover blown and are both in danger of being killed, but they each separately manage hair-raising escapes, Vivien taking a suitcase of incriminating documents that prove that Jordan has set up an illegal training camp for a neo-Nazi militia (The police agree to investigate and prosecute Jordan). Vivien's parents, who were devastated at her abandonment of the family home and the arranged betrothal, are now very proud of her anti-fascist work. After a tearful family reunion, Vivien flies off to Tel Aviv with Jack.
- Metascore71
- 2021-2021
- 1 season
- PBS Masterpiece
- Drama, Suspense
Vivien Epstein (Agnes O'Casey) is the daughter in a traditional suburban 1960s Manchester Jewish family, comprising father David (Will Keen), mother Liza (Samantha Spiro) and a relative Roza (Julia Krynke) whom the family is sheltering. The father arranges a marriage (with neither Vivien's desire nor her consent) with the father of a local Jewish boy. Vivien already has a beau, Jack (Tom Varey), who leaves for London, desolate. Vivien has no intention of becoming a bride. She leaves to find some Jewish relatives in London, rents a room with non-Jewish East End resident Nettie Jones (Rita Tushingham), and gets a job as a hairdresser in Soho. Far-right fascism is on the rise. One of her East End relatives, Soly Malinovsky (Eddie Marsan), is a London black cab driver who heads a Jewish anti-fascist group. He asks Vivien to get involved ("anti-fascists do, they don't just say"). She agrees to infiltrate the organization of Colin Jordan (Rory Kinnear, the neo-Nazi leader of the East End thugs. Jordan's organization (where Jack is already undercover) is based in the country mansion of a far-right English aristocrat. Vivien affects a relationship with Jordan and his young son, and she allows Jordan to seduce her. However, both Vivien and Jack have their cover blown and are both in danger of being killed, but they each separately manage hair-raising escapes, Vivien taking a suitcase of incriminating documents that prove that Jordan has set up an illegal training camp for a neo-Nazi militia (The police agree to investigate and prosecute Jordan). Vivien's parents, who were devastated at her abandonment of the family home and the arranged betrothal, are now very proud of her anti-fascist work. After a tearful family reunion, Vivien flies off to Tel Aviv with Jack.
Season 1 Episode Guide
4 Episodes 2021
Episode 1
Episode #1.1
Sun, May 1, 2022 58 mins
Jewish hairdresser Vivien walks out on her wedding in 1962 to go in search of her lost love Jack in London - but is shocked to see him apparently at a rally by a neo-Nazi movement. She discovers that he and her own estranged uncle are agents for a secret underground movement battling far-right extremism. When a confrontation at a Jewish school leaves Jack missing and a student dead, Vivien is persuaded to take up his assignment as an undercover operative.
Episode 2
Episode #1.2
56 mins
Vivien wins the trust of Colin Jordan and infiltrates the National Socialist Movement. She finds out what has happened to Jack, but the stakes are raised when she discovers a paramilitary organization is in training at the stately home of a fascist duke. Seeing the opportunity to gain evidence of illegal activities, the 62 Group set her a far more dangerous mission of planting a transmitter.
Episode 3
Episode #1.3
55 mins
An unexpected arrival complicates Vivien's plan to exploit Colin Jordan's growing affection for her. Soly tries to convince the police of the threat to the Jewish community posed by the NSM, but when he is unsuccessful, the 62 Group are forced to take matters into their own hands - but new desperate measures leave Vivien and Jack struggling to both maintain their cover and prevent further loss of life.
Episode 4
Episode #1.4
55 mins
Vivien wakes up in Colin Jordan's bedroom to see a suitcase containing documents detailing his illegal private army. If she can get it out, she can send him down. However, several NSM foot soldiers have become suspicious of Jack following Lee's beating. When they ask questions, he and Vivien narrowly avoid being exposed. In private, Jack tells Vivien there is too much heat and they need to run. Vivien refuses, telling him she's going back in to finish the job - with or without him.
