Set on a single street in South London, BBC One’s Capital is a portrait of a road transformed by soaring property prices.
What was once the home of modest lower-middle class families, Pepys Road has been continuously gentrified into a street of multimillion pound houses.
Peter Bowker’s adaptation of John Lanchester’s novel Capital stars Toby Jones (The Girl), Lesley Sharp (Scott And Bailey), Wunmi Mosaku (In The Flesh) and Adeel Akhtar (Utopia).
To the outside world, the residents of Pepys Road in south London have it all. House prices have rocketed, creating a street of multimillion pound homes – until a mysterious note bearing the words ‘we want what you have’ is dropped through every letterbox. Who has sent the message? And why are they watching the residents?
Episode 1
Tuesday 24 November 2015, 9pm
Petunia (Gemma Jones) has lived all her life on the street. She is growing increasingly worried about her dizzy spells, but doesn’t want to turn to her daughter Mary (Lesley Sharp) for help. Meanwhile, Roger (Toby Jones), banker and supposed family man, is hoping that this year’s bonus might bring him and his wife Arabella (Rachael Stirling) happiness – or at least be able to cover the cost of Bogdan (Rad Kaim) and all the renovations he’s been doing on the house.
Elsewhere, local shopkeeper Ahmed (Adeel Akhtar) is hoping that his brothers Shahid (Danny Ashok) and Usman (Hamza Jeetooa) might finally start to take some responsibility and make something of their lives. Whilst Quentina (Wunmi Mosaku), traffic warden and asylum seeker, is just looking to keep her head down – while being abused by the Pepys Road residents she is ticketing. All of this is watched by the successful but secretive Smitty (Robert Emms) – an artist who shares his own personal connection to Pepys Road.
Before long the ripples caused by the anonymous note will have touched every corner of the community – and the residents of Pepys Road will see their lives transformed.
Episode 2
Tuesday 1 December 2015, 9pm
As the ‘We Want What You Have’ campaign begins to intensify, the worried residents of Pepys Road demand greater action from the police. But whilst DI Mill (Bryan Dick) searches for a breakthrough, other forces continue to transform the fortunes of the road’s inhabitants.
Returning home after her Christmas sojourn, Arabella (Rachael Stirling, pictured) is troubled to discover that Roger is refusing to fall into line – and worse, rather than getting the house in order himself, he’s hired the attractive Matya (Zrinka Cvitesic) to help with the kids.
As Petunia’s health deteriorates, Smitty decides to reveal a big secret to his ailing grandmother. But her sickness doesn’t mean that old resentments are simply swept away, and Mary is left struggling to cope.
When the Kamal brothers learn that their mother, Mrs Kamal (Shabana Azmi) is planning to visit, Shahid hatches a plan to finally get rid of Iqbal. Whilst elsewhere, Bogdan’s womanising causes difficulties between him and Piotr (Krystian Godlewski), and Mashinko is desperate to hear what has happened to Quentina.
Episode 3
Tuesday 8 December 2015, 9pm
As the police investigation into the ‘We Want What You Have’ campaign leads them in an unexpected direction, DI Mill hopes to secure a confession – but has he got the right person?
Meanwhile, with Shahid’s life turned on its head, the Kamal family’s faith in one another is tested to the limit. Will they be able to intervene before Shahid has to make an impossible decision?
When Roger has a change of fortune, both he and Arabella are forced to take drastic measures. As their real feelings about each another are revealed, will they be able to ride out the storm?
Elsewhere, Bogdan tries to change his life for the better. As he looks for love close to home, an unexpected temptation threatens to derail everything.
As Quentina tries to make the best of her situation, Mashinko struggles to connect. Elsewhere, as Smitty’s new artwork reaches completion, he makes a startling discovery. Will this lead to his biggest secret being revealed?
Watch the trailer…
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