Virdee BBC One: New Yorkshire crime drama based on best selling books written by AA Dhand will be filmed in Bradford and will be a key part of activities leading up to 2025 Bradford City of Culture

It is produced by the company Magical Society and headed up by Paul Trijbits, best known for Jane Eyre, The Letter For The King and The Casual Vacancy, and will be based on AA Dhand’s best-selling novels.

The new six-part drama for BBC One and BBC iPlayer will centre around the character Detective Harry Virdee (portrayed by Sacha), a Bradford police officer disowned by his Sikh family for marrying Saima, who is Muslim.

Harry struggles with the abandonment from his family, constantly attempting to reunite with them. With his personal life crumbling around him, he must hunt down a killer targeting the Asian community.

When the killer kidnaps a local MP’s daughter in Bradford and holds the entire city for 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.

AA Dhand said: “Like me, DCI Harry Virdee is a proud Brit who dreams big and whilst he is passionate about his heritage, it is not something which solely defines him. He refuses to be shackled by the past and believes in merging worlds, cultures and identities; no matter the cost. Hey, aim big or go home – this is Yorkshire.”

Executive Producer Paul Trijbits says: “Working with Amit to get the Harry Virdee books to the screen has been a long but utterly satisfying journey. It’s no mean feat for Amit to have succeeded in adapting this love story set in such a rich and complex world and wrapping it all up in a crime series.”

Lindsay Salt said: “I’m passionate about supporting writers at every stage in their careers and we are thrilled to be working with Amit on his very first drama for television along with the team at Magical Society. Virdee is a powerful and gripping detective story but at its heart are two people in love and their struggle to be accepted as a couple. With Sacha in the lead role of Harry and Bradford providing the perfect backdrop, I can’t wait for viewers to be captivated by this series.”

Virdee will also be an important part of the activities leading upto the 2025 Bradford City of Culture. In order to support the production, The Screen Academy Bradford has been set up to deliver a series of bespoke training programmes across all departments, designed to address specific crew shortages and skills gaps, particularly among underserved groups in Bradford.

The academy is spearheaded by Magical Society and supported by the BBC, the HETV Skills Fund delivered by ScreenSkills, Bradford Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Tracy Brabin Mayor of West Yorkshire and Screen Yorkshire. The academy producer is Ameenah Ayub Allen (Ali and Ava, Rocks).

Filming will start later this year in and around Bradford and further cast members will be announced in due course.