Episodes
| Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A Protest Ignites | 20230417 | In October 2005, rumours about a rape in a shop filled the pirate radio airwaves. The allegation was that South Asian shopkeepers had assaulted a schoolgirl of Jamaican heritage. The story struck a nerve and soon people were protesting outside the shop - a hair and beauty supply shop named Beauty Queen. Over the subsequent days, the protests would morph into something else entirely, a riot which brought hundreds to the streets and left two people dead. Beauty Queen Riots is a five-part series looking at the Lozells and Handsworth riots of 2005 in Birmingham. It's a story that takes us into the conflicting and sometimes uncomfortable world of interethnic conflict in modern Britain. Journalist Amardeep Bassey returns to investigate a story he first covered 18 years ago. What happened and what did we miss back then which might have explained why people took to the streets with such force? And what lessons can be learned 20 years on? Producer: Ben Tulloh Executive Editor: Bridget Harney Music and Mix: Alex Portfelix A Burning Bright production for BBC Radio 4 Rumours of an attack in a beauty product shop trigger an angry protest. How one spark made a neighbourhood explode in Birmingham in 2005. |
| 02 | Refuge In The Church | 20230418 | In October 2005, rumours about a rape in a shop filled the pirate radio airwaves. The allegation was that South Asian shopkeepers had assaulted a schoolgirl of Jamaican heritage. The story struck a nerve and soon people were protesting outside the shop - a hair and beauty supply shop named Beauty Queen. Over the subsequent days, the protests would morph into something else entirely, a riot which brought hundreds to the streets and left two people dead. Beauty Queen Riots is a five-part series looking at the Lozells and Handsworth riots of 2005 in Birmingham. It's a story that takes us into the conflicting and sometimes uncomfortable world of interethnic conflict in modern Britain. Journalist Amardeep Bassey returns to investigate a story he first covered 18 years ago. What happened and what did we miss back then which might have explained why people took to the streets with such force? And what lessons can be learned 20 years on? Producer: Ben Tulloh Executive Editor: Bridget Harney Music and Mix: Alex Portfelix A Burning Bright production for BBC Radio 4 Church leaders and police seek to diffuse tension before a shocking revelation. How one spark made a neighbourhood explode in Birmingham in 2005. |
| 03 | A Riot Rages | 20230419 | Amardeep Bassey speaks to eye-witnesses who describe the scale of violence that took place that evening. And we hear of the heartbreak of one family. Isaiah Young-Sam's cousin remembers the moment he heard how Isaiah was stabbed and killed while trying to make his way home that night. He was an innocent young man trying to avoid the anger and the rage. In the aftermath of the violence, a mediation team attempts to calm the situation down. Beauty Queen Riots is a five-part series looking at the Lozells and Handsworth riots of 2005 in Birmingham. It's a story that takes us into the conflicting and sometimes uncomfortable world of interethnic conflict in modern Britain. Journalist Amardeep Bassey returns to investigate a story he first covered 18 years ago. What happened and what did we miss back then which might have explained why people took to the streets with such force? And what lessons can be learned 20 years on? Producer: Ben Tulloh Executive Editor: Bridget Harney Music and Mix: Alex Portfelix A Burning Bright production for BBC Radio 4 Rioting starts on the streets of Lozells, and Isaiah Young-Sam is murdered. How one spark made a neighbourhood explode in Birmingham in 2005. |
| 04 | The Layers Of Resentment | 20230420 | Amardeep Bassey digs deeper into the history of the area to try to understand the friction that brought people to the streets. How does a place that rubs along peacefully for the majority of the time suddenly explode into violence? Beauty Queen Riots is a five-part series looking at the Lozells and Handsworth riots of 2005 in Birmingham. It's a story that takes us into the conflicting and sometimes uncomfortable world of interethnic conflict in modern Britain. Journalist Amardeep Bassey returns to investigate a story he first covered 18 years ago. What happened and what did we miss back then which might have explained why people took to the streets with such force? And what lessons can be learned 20 years on? Producer: Ben Tulloh Executive Editor: Bridget Harney Music and Mix: Alex Portfelix A Burning Bright production for BBC Radio 4 What are the forces that caused a neighbourhood to explode? How one spark made a neighbourhood explode in Birmingham in 2005. |
| 05 | Healing The Wounds | 20230421 | In the final episode, Amardeep hears how the community has been working to prevent a major public disturbance like the riots of 2005 spilling out onto the streets ever again. Beauty Queen Riots is a five-part series looking at the Lozells and Handsworth riots of 2005 in Birmingham. It's a story that takes us into the conflicting and sometimes uncomfortable world of interethnic conflict in modern Britain. Journalist Amardeep Bassey returns to investigate a story he first covered 18 years ago. What happened and what did we miss back then which might have explained why people took to the streets with such force? And what lessons can be learned 20 years on? Producer: Ben Tulloh Executive Editor: Bridget Harney Music and Mix: Alex Portfelix A Burning Bright production for BBC Radio 4 How has the community been working to prevent a repeat of the 2005 riots? How one spark made a neighbourhood explode in Birmingham in 2005. |