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Shadow World

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Shadow World - Breakin' the Cycle is the story of two feared London gangsters, Colin and D, who, in the early 2000s decide to try and escape the cycle of crime by making a movie based on their own lives as gang leaders and drug dealers. But the lines between fact and fiction quickly begin to blur, when they take a star-studded cast and a largely white, middle-class film crew into their world, in an attempt to make the UK's first authentic hood film. Accidental stabbings, drug dealing on set, and even a real-life shootout. Amongst the chaos, they're faced with the realities of leaving gang life behind, and the constant temptations of their old life threatening to drag them back in. Breakin' the Cycle is a series about friendship, guns, drugs, money and the sacrifices required when leaving one life behind in pursuit of another.

What will it take for Colin and D to leave behind a world of guns, drugs, and gangs, and reinvent themselves as film-makers?

Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

Afleveringen

  1. Sarah Payne: Unforgotten: Trailer

    4 november 2026 · 3 min

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    On 1 July 2000, eight year-old Sarah Payne ran ahead of her brothers and sister in a field near her grandparents' home in West Sussex and was never seen alive again. Seventeen days later, her body was found. Her disappearance prompted one of the largest and most heavily publicised searches in British history — and at its heart was Sarah's mother, Sara Payne, a woman who set out to turn unimaginable loss into a force for change. Lees meer

    Across six episodes, documentary-maker Edmund Coulthard draws on archive and new testimony from Sarah's family, detectives, journalists and politicians to tell the story of the murder investigation, the divisive News of the World campaign to name and shame sex offenders, and the long battle for Sarah's Law.

    It's the story of a crime that changed the national conversation about child sex offenders living in ordinary communities, and of an extraordinary woman determined that her daughter's name would never be forgotten.

    Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows — BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Series Producer: Edmund Coulthard
    Producer: Joanna Humphreys
    Sound Design: Iain Chambers
    Head of Production: Stephanie Edwards
    Production Coordinator: Neena Abdullah
    Executive Producer: Innes Bowen
    BBC Local Commissioning Editor: Alistair Miskin

    A Forest production for BBC Radio 4.

  2. Breakin' the Cycle: 6. The Final Act

    2 september 2026 · 30 min

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    Tragedy sends D into shock, confusion, and grief. In the maelstrom of emotion, he decides to fulfill a lucrative drug deal, but is immediately arrested. Lees meer

    In prison, he struggles with guilt, despair, the consequences of his criminal past, and the legacy of the unfinished film. But over time, the story becomes a rare source of purpose.

    Eventually, D is released and tries to rebuild his life away from crime, but the weight of Colin's memory, and the unfinished film, continues to define him. Has D finally come to terms with his past and its consequences?

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw production for BBC Radio 4

    In memory of Malik Ford, who first brought this remarkable story to light.

  3. Breakin' the Cycle: 5. One Shot

    26 augustus 2026 · 28 min

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    As filming wraps, Lewis struggles to finish the first edit of Breakin’ the Cycle as he questions the morality of its violent protagonist. Lees meer

    Colin and D head towards a make-or-break meeting that reveals the final steps needed to complete their goal. But before they can finish them, they are unexpectedly drawn into a high-level drug opportunity. As pressure mounts, the tragic consequences of their past lives begin to catch up with them.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw production for BBC Radio 4

  4. Breakin' the Cycle: 4. A New Direction

    19 augustus 2026 · 28 min

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    With Colin now firmly in the director’s chair, Breakin’ the Cycle is transformed. Drawing directly from their lived experience, Colin unlocks startlingly authentic performances from the cast, turning what once looked like a cliched gangster film into something intimate, powerful, and deeply real. Lees meer

    As early edits reveal the film’s extraordinary potential, hope begins to take hold. This could be the project that finally changes Colin and D’s lives. But stepping into film-making doesn’t mean escaping the world they came from. When tensions flare on East London estates and old reputations are tested, the past begins to close in.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw production for BBC Radio 4

  5. Breakin' the Cycle: 3. The Right Kind of Violence

    12 augustus 2026 · 29 min

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    Production on Breakin’ the Cycle is falling apart - actors are injured, the crew is out of its depth, and Colin and D realise their director can’t capture the reality they lived. Lees meer

    As D faces court and confronts the police corruption that shaped his life, he and Colin make a life-changing decision — to finally commit to breaking the cycle, shutting down their criminal operation, and betting everything on film.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw production for BBC Radio 4

  6. Breakin' the Cycle: 2. A Hood Story

    5 augustus 2026 · 29 min

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    As Colin and D begin turning their prison-written script into a real production, they recruit former pop stars and emerging actors, building a cast captivated by the promise of an authentic Black British crime story. Their film starts to feel like a genuine cultural moment. But most of the cast and crew are unaware of the true story behind the pair or their journey to becoming film-makers. Lees meer

    Beneath the excitement of the production, the money, power, and instincts that built “Love of Money” are still very much in play. When D’s commitment to turning away from crime is tested, he is drawn back to familiar instincts.

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw Production for BBC Radio 4

  7. Breakin' the Cycle: 1. The Script

    29 juli 2026 · 29 min

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    When aspiring movie editor Lewis Albrow lands an unusual interview with Colin Browne and his right-hand man D, he believes he’s finally found his break into the film industry - but instead he’s pulled into a very different world. Lees meer

    In prison, Colin Browne has written a script based on his life and his long-running criminal partnership with D, leading the gang Love of Money. But in Colin’s story, unlike in his life, the main protagonist manages to break free from his cycle of criminality.

    When the pair reconnect after Colin’s release, they realise the script could be a way out of crime. They meet a smooth-talking fixer who promises to help them turn it into a movie, and begin a new chapter in their lives. But how serious are they about the film’s central theme - breaking the cycle of a life of crime?

    Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow
    Series Producer: Emma Barnaby
    Producer: Louis Hollis
    Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage
    Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie
    Script Editor: Jason Lewis
    Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore
    Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho
    Production Executive: Letisha Kidza
    Head of Production: Nicky Murphy
    Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton
    Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.
    Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.
    Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

    A Raw production for BBC Radio 4

  8. Breakin' the Cycle: Trailer

    22 juli 2026 · 3 min

    Beluister deze aflevering
    Breakin’ the Cycle is the story of two feared London gangsters, Colin and D, who, in the early 2000’s decide to try and escape the cycle of crime by making a movie based on their own lives as gang leaders and drug dealers. But the lines between fact and fiction quickly begin to blur, when they take a star-studded cast and a largely white, middle-class film crew into their world, in an attempt to make the UK’s first authentic hood film. Accidental stabbings, drug dealing on set, and even a real-life shootout. Amongst the chaos, they're faced with the realities of leaving gang life behind, and the constant temptations of their old life threatening to drag them back in. Breakin’ the Cycle is a series about friendship, guns, drugs, money and the sacrifices required when leaving one life behind in pursuit of another. Lees meer
  9. Stolen Years: 4. Closing Arguments

    19 mei 2026 · 29 min

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    Will justice finally prevail? For Shadow World: Stolen Years, the trial of Paul Quinn reaches its verdict. After more than two decades will the victim of the brutal rape finally see the right man convicted? Lees meer

    And at the conclusion of the trial will Andy feel a sense of closure? With two separate investigations still examining the failures in his case, the verdict is not the end of the story.

    Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Jemma Gander
    Series Producer and Editor: Fran Robertson
    Assistant Editor: Christopher Whyte
    Composer: Sholto
    Sound design and mix: Chris Maclean
    Executive Producer for Goldhawk: Kate Holland
    Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke

    A Two Step Films production in association with Goldhawk for Radio 4

  10. Stolen Years: 3. Lucky Man

    19 mei 2026 · 28 min

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    Why did it take so long to free an innocent man? In Shadow World: Stolen Years, the case against the new suspect in the 2003 rape case gathers pace, while Andrew Malkinson finally receives good news of his own. Lees meer

    But as the series turns to the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the appeal system, a deeper question emerges - how was he left in prison for so long?

    Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Jemma Gander
    Series Producer and Editor: Fran Robertson
    Assistant Editor: Christopher Whyte
    Composer: Sholto
    Sound design and mix: Chris Maclean
    Executive Producer for Goldhawk: Kate Holland
    Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams
    Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke

    A Two Step Films production in association with Goldhawk for Radio 4

Alle 74 afleveringen →

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Categorieën
Maatschappij , Cultuur , Documentaire , True crime
Status
Loopt nog
Verschijnt
Elke week
Lengte
Meestal 30 min
Afleveringen
74
Laatste aflevering
4 november 2026
Eerste aflevering
20 mei 2024
Taal
Engels