Prisoner 951
Released
2025
Broadcaster
BBC One
Duration
4 x 60
Genre
Drama, History, Thriller

In 2016, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is torn from her 22-month-old daughter, arrested, falsely accused of espionage, and imprisoned in Iran. Thousands of miles away, in London, her husband Richard refuses to stay silent and does everything in his power to bring her home.When it is revealed that Nazanin is a pawn in a decades-old political dispute, Richard wages a campaign to free her, battling tyranny abroad and seeming indifference at home. 

Spanning six harrowing years and based on the first-hand accounts of Nazanin and Richard, as well as extensive research, this powerful true story charts one family’s extraordinary courage and resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity.

Reviews

"Narges Rashidi is perfectly cast, capturing both Nazanin’s misery and towering dignity"
— The Times
★★★★☆
"The cast, including Joseph Fiennes, are excellent"
— The Guardian
★★★★☆
"This really is Nazanin and Richard's stories, as it should be."
— The Radio Times
★★★★☆
"The excruciating passage of time is captured brilliantly, and you lose count of the number of times Nazanin is tormented by dashed hopes."
— The Independent
★★★★☆

Press

Royal Television Society
12 March 2026

Prisoner 951 Sweeps RTS West Awards with Six Nominations

Royal Television Society
09 March 2026

Narges Rashidi Lands RTS Leading Actor (Female) Nomination for Portrayal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Prisoner 951

The Observer
28 November 2025

Prisoner 951: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Kafkaesque hostage nightmare

Drama Quaterly
25 November 2025

Prisoner 951 star Narges Rashidi, writer Stephen Butchard and director Philippa Lowthorpe reveal how they dramatised the years-long story of Nazani...

The Independent
23 November 2025

a harrowing and effective retelling of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s abduction

The Guardian
23 November 2025

this defiant Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama makes Britain look ridiculous

The Telegraph
23 November 2025

Prisoner 951 reveals how Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was a hostage to politics

The Times
23 November 2025

this Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama left me enraged

Radio Times
23 November 2025

Narges Rashidi and Joseph Fiennes shine in this powerful four-part series.

Variety
17 November 2025

‘Prisoner 951’ Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Images as Drama Based on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Iran Imprisonment Preps BBC Launch

The Guardian
13 November 2025

‘She was extremely petrified’: the shocking drama about one woman’s six-year ordeal in an Iranian jail

Radio Times
10 November 2025

BBC's new drama based on "extraordinary" true story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe confirms release date

BBC
01 October 2025

BBC announces Narges Rashidi and Joseph Fiennes as leads in Prisoner 951, a powerful new drama that follows the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ...