THE prison ordeal endured by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family will be featured in a BBC documentary AND a drama, which will air side by side later this year.
The British-Iranian charity worker was accused of spying and jailed in Iran in 2016, before being released three years ago.
A drama chronicling what happened to Nazanin is being made by the Beeb starring Shakespeare in Love star Joseph Fiennes playing her husband Richard.
He tirelessly campaigned for her release so she could be reunited with him and their daughter, who was just two at the time she was incarcerated.
The four-parter is based on forthcoming book A Yard Of Sky, written by the couple, and Nazanin will be played in the drama by Narges Rashidi.
The documentary, which will be screened alongside the mini series, will air on a channel yet to be confirmed.
It will feature Nazanin and Richard talking at length about what happened to their family, based in Winchester, and how they’ve tried to rebuild their lives since.
It’s the latest in a number of documentaries the Beeb have made linking to its dramas including The Gold, about the Brink’s-Mat gold bullion robbery, and the Lockerbie bombing.
This kind of drama-and-doc pairing has also been embraced by ITV who’ve been doing the same with shows like Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, Unforgotten and Des.
A TV insider said: “They’ve found they’re a very successful way bring together the dramatic and the factual to startling effect.
“They’ve proved very popular with viewers and the synergy between the two shows going out around the same time is one that’s hard to deny.”
The BBC has yet to confirm when they will be shown.
Bella stars in dark comedy
THE Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey will lead a Channel 4 drama called Maya, alongside Daisy Haggard.
It follows a mum and daughter forced into a witness protection programme who relocate to a rural town in Scotland.
The “darkly comedic” six-parter starts filming later this year.
A Grand return by Kevin
GRAND Designs: House Of The Year is back as Kevin McCloud takes us on a tour of more of architectural gems.
He will be joined by experts Damion Burrows and Natasha Huq to scour the Royal Institute of British Architect’s shortlist of projects.
The final episode of the four-part series will then unveil the winner of the RIBA House of the Year 2025.
Kevin said: “This series celebrates a sparkling range of what’s possible in domestic architecture today. It’s a great privilege to be able to help uncover these gems of creative imagination – and of course it’s a complete joy to be back presenting House of the Year alongside Natasha and Damion.”
The series will hit our screens on Channel 4 later this year.
Bear Necessities
A FIFTH series of chef comedy drama The Bear starring Jeremy Allen White has been confirmed, hot on the heels of the fourth landing on Disney+ this week.
John Landgraf, the boss of FX who make the show created by Christopher Storer, described it as a “magnificent story”.
Phyllis: A wife of crime
PHYLLIS LOGAN got to spend more time with her husband than she bargained for – after he was cast as her love interest.
She plays Cora Felton – aka the Puzzle Lady – in whodunnit detective series Murder Most Puzzling on Channel 5.
The role is opposite Kevin McNally, her husband of 14 years.
They had already appeared together as man and wife in BBC One historical drama Miss Austen last year, then got to do it all over again months later.
Phyllis, who will be in the third and final Downton Abbey movie as housekeeper Mrs Carson this September, said: “I had no idea that he was being offered the part and was surprised and delighted, since I’d been away from home for ages.”
The latest episode of Murder Most Puzzling is on today at 8pm.
Rider’s murder riddle
SKY will delve into the shocking death of showjumper Katie Simpson in a new documentary.
When the promising young rider died unexpectedly aged 21 in 2020, it was believed she had taken her own life.
Then a local journalist in Northern Ireland realised there were similarities between her death and another cold case murder, which led to Jonathan Creswell, the partner of Katie’s sister, standing trial.
He denied charges of rape and murder but was found dead at home shortly after the trial began in 2024.
The three-parter, Death of A Showjumper, which lands on Sky and NOW on July 16, will tell the story through personal accounts from friends and family, and insight from the investigation team.
Sacha a hairy scary
SACHA BARON COHEN is seriously scary after finally being unveiled as evil adversary Mephisto in Disney+ Marvel miniseries Ironheart.
The Ali G and Borat comic is revealed as the soul-manipulating demon in the series finale, complete with long hair and beard.
The show is based around teenage genius Riri Williams, played by Dominique Thorne, who has created her own version of the Iron Man suit made famous by Robert Downey Jr in the movies.
Mephisto appears to tempt Riri to change her troubled past – and make her suit even more powerful with his magic.
