Prisoner 951
British television series
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Prisoner 951 is a British factual drama television series, starring Narges Rashidi as British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe imprisoned on spying charges for six years in Iran, and Joseph Fiennes as her husband Richard Ratcliffe. The series premiered on BBC One on 23 November 2025 in four parts, and was released in five parts on SBS Television in Australia in March 2026.
| Prisoner 951 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | A Yard of Sky by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe |
| Screenplay by | Stephen Butchard |
| Directed by | Philippa Lowthorpe |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 57 minutes |
| Production company | Dancing Ledge Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 23 November – 1 December 2025 |
Synopsis
British-Iranian citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran as she was returning to the UK from a family visit in 2016. Forced to leave her 22-month-old daughter with her mother, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held for six years on spying charges prior to her release and return to the United Kingdom.[1][2] The series is critical of the British Government's response.[3]
Cast and characters
- Narges Rashidi as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe[4]
- Joseph Fiennes as Richard Ratcliffe[4]
- Bijan Daneshmand as Baba[4]
- Nicholas Farrell as John Ratcliffe[4]
- Marion Bailey as Barbara Ratcliffe[4]
Production
The series is directed by Philippa Lowthorpe and written by Stephen Butchard, based on the upcoming book A Yard of Sky about their experiences of the arrest and the campaign for her release, by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe.[5]
The cast is led by Narges Rashidi as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Joseph Fiennes as her husband Richard Ratcliffe.[6]
The series is produced by Fremantle's Dancing Ledge Productions, with Fremantle handling international sales. Filming took place in Greece and the United Kingdom.[7]
Release
The series aired in four parts on BBC One and BBC iPlayer[8][9] on 23 November 2025.[10]
It aired on SBS Television and SBS on Demand in Australia from 4 March 2026, in five parts of 45 minutes each.[2][11]
Reception
Phil Harrison of The Guardian gave the series 4 out of 5 stars, praising the "excellent" performances as well as the script.[10]
RadioTimes described Prisoner 951 as a “powerful, unflinching piece of drama”. The Observer and The Independent praised both Fienne’s and Rashidi’s performances.[2]
In her detailed review of the series, Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was herself imprisoned in Iran under similar circumstances from September 2018 to November 2020 and had met Zaghari-Ratcliffe briefly in prison, wrote: "Objectively, as a piece of television, Prisoner 951 is well-acted and thoughtfully shot—intimate when it needs to be, and appropriately expansive when exploring the broader themes of Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s story".[3]
Accolades
For her role, Rashidi won Best Actress at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2026.[12] She also received a nomination for Leading Actress at the British Academy Television Awards.[13]