BBC announces casting for crime thriller ‘Virdee’

The cast for Virdee, the upcoming BBC crime thriller based on Bradford author AA Dhand’s book series, has been announced.

Staz Nair of Game of Thrones will lead the cast as Detective Harry Virdee, replacing Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan due to scheduling issues. Aysha Kala joins the cast as Harry’s wife Saima Virdee.

Nina Singh is set to play Tara Virdee, Harry’s niece and a keen crime reporter, with Vikash Bhai as Harry’s brother-in-law Riaz Hyatt.

Kulvinder Ghir and Sudha Bhuchar will play Harry Virdee’s parents, Ranjit and Jyoti.

Virdee follows Detective Harry Virdee, a cop disowned by his Sikh family for marrying Saima, who is Muslim. Harry struggles with the abandonment and now with his young son, Aaron, growing up and asking questions, thinks it might be time to attempt to reunite with his family. His personal life is in chaos, but he must now hunt down a serial killer targeting the Asian community.

‘Virdee’ creator, writer, and executive producer AA Dhand says: “A truly diverse cast, with an abundance of talent but most importantly, a real passion for this show. Staz Nair brings Harry Virdee authentically to life not only with a real physical presence but also an emotional depth that instantly resonated with us all.”

On playing Harry Virdee, Staz Nair says: “It’s an absolute honour to be taking on this vibrant and complex story about assimilating culture and what we’re willing to do to protect who and what we love. This show leads with vulnerability more than any detective drama I’ve ever seen, and it’s a privilege to be bringing AA Dhand’s hope for his city to life.”

Elizabeth Berrington also joins the cast as DS Clare Conway and Danyal Ismail will play DS Amin.

The Virdee cast also includes Tomi May, Andi Jashy, Hussina Raja, Ashkay Kumar, Madiha Ansari, Jason Patel, Conor Lowson, and Rupert Procter.