Prisoner 951 review: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe drama is fittingly infuriating and heart-rending

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

I think most of us have probably heard something about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe‘s story over the last decade. It’s been pretty hard to avoid, though honestly, sometimes I wish I could just tune everything out!

Nazanin’s case received significant attention largely due to the relentless campaigning of her husband, Richard. His dedicated and often difficult work brought her situation to light, preventing it from being overlooked.

As a film buff, I’m really excited about the upcoming BBC drama, Prisoner 951. I think it’s going to bring Nazanin’s incredibly important story to a much wider audience, and hopefully help people who only know the basics really understand what she’s been through.

Inspired by the upcoming book, A Yard of Sky by Nazanin and Richard, this series is a hard-hitting and emotional drama that will likely leave viewers both heartbroken and furious.

In 2016, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian citizen, went to Iran with her young daughter, Gabriella, to see her family. Her husband, Richard, remained in the UK.

While waiting for their flight home to the UK, the mother and daughter were arrested at the airport, and Gabriella had her passport taken away.

Iranian authorities accused Nazanin of being involved with a foreign network and attempting to destabilize the government, leading to a five-year prison sentence. Nazanin consistently maintained her innocence, stating she was simply visiting family in Iran.

For years, Richard tirelessly worked to secure Nazanin’s release. When he felt the government wasn’t doing enough, he began using the media to raise awareness about her situation.

Both he and Nazanin came to believe she was being used as a bargaining chip in a long-running disagreement between Iran and the UK, stemming from an unpaid debt owed by the UK. While the UK government consistently stated there was no connection, Nazanin and other dual nationals weren’t released until the debt was finally settled – six years later, in 2022.

The story of Nazanin and Richard is fully recounted in ‘Prisoner 951,’ a film written by Stephen Butchard and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. The film draws on their personal experiences, as well as thorough research.

Considering how recently these events happened, this program seems designed to do more than just inform viewers about Nazanin’s situation. It aims to help them truly understand what she went through, with both a deep understanding of the facts and a strong emotional connection.

At first, I was concerned the show was spending too much time on the details of what happened and not enough on the emotional impact. The story moved quickly through Nazanin’s arrest, the false accusations against her, and Richard’s reaction, and it all felt a bit distant. But that turned out to be a clever choice by the show’s creators.

Similar to how Nazanin and Richard experienced things, the story quickly throws you into a confusing and fast-moving situation, making it difficult to fully grasp the gravity of what’s unfolding.

The episode concludes with some incredibly powerful scenes. A moment where Nazanin and Gabriella share a brief reunion is especially touching, heartbreaking, and realistic – it’s hard not to feel emotional while watching it.

After that initial setup, the series completely swept me away – it was an incredibly emotional experience, constantly throwing one devastating situation after another at me. It wasn’t easy to watch, and honestly, it shouldn’t have been. The show really confronted the terrible reality of what Nazanin and her family went through, showing how they were repeatedly given glimmers of hope, only to have those hopes crushed.

Many scenes are frustrating because, despite her claims of innocence, it’s increasingly obvious that the truth isn’t what’s important. Other forces are controlling the situation, and she has no power to help herself, get free, or reunite with her family.

I was completely captivated by Narges Rashidi’s portrayal of Nazanin. She truly became the character, and I never once felt like I was watching an actress perform – it was a completely immersive experience. Her performance was just breathtaking!

This performance could have easily been overly simplistic, focusing solely on Nazanin’s pain. However, Rashidi delivers a nuanced portrayal, skillfully adding layers of hope, happiness, and humor to the character.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, another part of the story focuses on Richard’s work to uncover the true reasons for Nazanin’s imprisonment and push British leaders to take effective steps to help.

Joseph Fiennes, much like Rashidi, gives an outstanding performance. It’s a subtle and understated portrayal, filled with compassion and strength. He expertly conveys Richard’s inner turmoil, hinting at his frustration and sadness rather than overtly displaying it.

This story is built on contrasts. We see this in the parallel experiences of Nazanin and Richard, and in the way the narrative balances deep sadness with intense anger. It also moves fluidly between being a deeply moving love story and a gripping political thriller.

The story focuses entirely on Richard and Nazanin’s perspectives. We don’t see what Iranian officials discussed behind closed doors, and we only see meetings about the situation when Richard is involved. The film avoids showing the British government’s internal discussions or actions unless Richard is directly present.

Choosing this approach is definitely a good decision, especially considering what’s recently happened. It allows us to understand their point of view – for example, even though work was being done on Nazanin’s case privately, Richard felt like no progress was being made, and we can relate to that feeling of helplessness.

One drawback is that the scenes featuring actual British politicians feel a little forced and don’t quite fit with the overall tone of the show.

Rather than cast an actor to portray Boris Johnson, the filmmakers opted to use existing archive footage of him, as explained by Butchard in an interview with TopMob magazine.

However, three politicians – Tobias Ellwood, James Cleverly, and Liz Truss – do appear in the program, portrayed by actors.

It’s hard to say if the team made the right choices, considering they were trying to show real meetings Richard attended and how frustrated he became while trying to get things moving forward.

It’s definitely strange to see Liz Truss portrayed as a character so soon after watching the real Boris Johnson, and the portrayal feels a bit like a caricature.

There’s no easy answer to what the best approach would have been. We can be glad we didn’t see Liz Truss and Dominic Cleverly appear as themselves, like the strange cameos with Nadhim Zahawi in Mr Bates vs the Post Office. However, those scenes do feel out of place, especially since the rest of the show is so captivating and realistic.

The supporting cast delivers solid performances, particularly from Kavé Niku and Behi Djanati-Atai as Nazanin’s brother and mother. The young actresses portraying Gabriella at different ages also shine.

No one really has a standout, major moment in the story. Ultimately, it focuses on Nazanin and Richard, and that’s where the emphasis should be.

The show concludes by briefly focusing on another prisoner and activist we’ve seen before, but this feels sudden and doesn’t quite fit with everything else we’ve watched. While the show’s intention is clear, this final segment doesn’t have the emotional impact it aims for, especially considering how deeply it explored the stories of other characters.

Despite these small issues, the film is deeply moving and worthwhile. “Prisoner 951” isn’t groundbreaking or overly stylish, and that’s perfectly okay.

The creators of this series understand the importance of staying true to the core of the story. At its heart, it’s about overcoming hardship, the power of love, and the fight for fairness. But most importantly, it’s the story of Nazanin and Richard – ordinary people who were pushed to extraordinary limits by terrible events.

In its small, limited way, in the way that any drama can, this series does them justice.

Prisoner 951 will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Sunday 23rd November 2025.

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2025-11-23 03:36