Anthony Bryan had been living and working in the UK for 50 years, when he was detained by the Home Office and threatened with deportation to Jamaica. Bryan, who hadn’t lived in Jamaica since he was eight, was one of many caught up in the Windrush scandal. The Windrush generation were people who came to the UK to work, at the invitation of the government, between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries like Jamaica and Barbados. When immigration laws changed in 2012 many were forced to prove their continuous residence in the UK.  An independent review later found there had been a “profound institutional failure” Sitting in Limbo a one-off BBC drama focusses on Bryan’s true story, but it’s not unique. And it’s likely to have particular resonance in light of the protests against the death of George Floyd. Here’s everything you need to know about the drama.  

What is the plot of Sitting in Limbo?

Written by Bryan’s brother, Stephen S Thompson, it recounts what happens to Bryan when he applies for a passport for the first time in 2016 to visit his ill mother in Jamaica. It’s then he discovers there is no record of his British citizenship. The 90-minute drama focusses on Bryan’s fight to prove his status to the Home Office, despite living in the UK since 1965. He is forced to leave his job, is unable to claim benefits, removed from his home and detained as an illegal immigrant for five weeks. “It broke me,” said Bryan of what he went through in a documentary about his experiences. That documentary, The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files is repeated on BBC Two on 13 June at 8.15pm.

Who is in Sitting in Limbo? 

Patrick Robinson (Casualty) plays Anthony and Nadine Marshall (Save Me) plays his wife Janet. Gangs of London star Pippa Bennett-Warner plays Patrick’s daughter Eileen, while CJ Beckford (Small Island) plays his son Gary.

Is there a trailer for Sitting in Limbo?

There is, you can watch below:

When can I watch Sitting in Limbo?

Sitting in Limbo is on BBC One on Monday June 8 at 8.30pm and available afterwards on BBC iPlayer.     

Images: BBC