West Yorkshire on TV: New BBC crime thriller filmed in and around Bradford gets air date
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Virdee tells the story of Detective Harry Virdee, a dedicated cop whose personal life is in chaos. He is in a loving relationship with his wife, Saima, but he is estranged from his family who disapprove of his interfaith marriage.
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.
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When a young dealer is murdered, Harry’s duty to uphold the law clashes with his links to members of the crime gangs. He must hunt down whoever is targeting those around him.
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.
The series was filmed in and around Bradford last year.
Speaking about filming in West Yorkshire, Staz Nair, who plays Harry Virdee, said: “I have so many favourite locations. One of the first scenes I did on the streets of Bradford is when Harry meets a local street dealer to find out where someone is.
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Hide Ad"We were in the middle of nowhere filming down an alleyway and a lovely neighbour came by and offered us some chai, it was so lovely.
"This woman didn’t know us! In Saima’s dad’s house, the owner cooked for us. In the Virdee house, the owner and I sat and bonded.
“Bradford was so welcoming, and everyone was so excited to part of it and understand what was going on, so I think that really inspired us all to continually put everything into it.”
Virdee is based on the best-selling novels by AA Dhand, who also adapted the series for the screen.
All episodes of Virdee will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Monday, February 10. The first episode will air at 9pm on BBC One that evening with episodes continuing to air weekly.
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