In 2005, a group of teenage girls from Drumchapel in Glasgow made national headline news as they spearheaded a campaign to change deportation laws in the UK, after one of their immigrant friends and her family were arrested in one of a series of dawn raids initiated by the UK Immigration Department.

Glasgow Girls, a new one-off musical drama from BBC Three, tells the story of how these girls came together as one voice to change the minds and attitudes of the British people surrounding immigration at that time. Written by Joe Barton and Brian Welsh (The Escape Artist), who also directs, it’s a subtly crafted piece, asking questions and presenting opinions about the immigration and deportation debate.

The drama does a realistic job of highlighting the growing ethnicity and cultural diversity of Glasgow, while not presenting it as entirely accepting and tolerant. Racism still exists, as do ignorance and detrimental points of view, but ultimately these reflect the Glasgow (and Britain) of now and then: nowhere near entirely tolerant of other cultures but gaining momentum in their awareness and acceptance of them.

The musical numbers are infrequent, but poignantly placed, giving the story time to breathe. The songs, such as ‘Higher Ground’ by Stevie Wonder and ‘Try Again’ by Aaliyah all have a relevance to their place in the story. It’s also not lost on this viewer that the music used is from performers of ethnic origin, subliminally reinforcing the positive cultural elements that we choose to embrace from other cultures, in this case popular music.

It’s also a very well cast production. Letitia Wright’s performance as Amal is both critical and poignant, and Wright portrays Amal’s hopelessness and desperation beautifully: her impassioned speech at the resident’s meeting being a particularly emotional and thought provoking highlight.

Kirstie Steele, as Jennifer is another stand-out, providing a wonderfully vivid picture of your typical Glasgow teen, whose well-defined character arc sees her go from closed-minded conformist to a motivated, outspoken young lady, fighting the cause for all the right reasons.

Greg Hemphill plays real-life First Minister Jack McConnell with an almost unconscious ease. Speaking without saying anything and becoming the poster child for the ineptitude of the British Government, he makes empty promises and thoughtlessly spin doctors.

Gary Lewis’ role as support teacher Euan Girvan is that glue that holds all these fine performances together though. Lewis (Billy Elliot, Not Another Happy Ending) is one of Scotland’s finest actors and he is superb here. Portrayed as both a friend and a father figure, as well as a concerned educator, he is an adult figurehead for the teens cause and does so with his usual charismatic aplomb.

Glasgow Girls does a very fair job of highlighting the issues without being preachy or overly sentimental. Instead, it presents the viewpoints and allows the viewer to make up their own mind about this still ongoing debate. However, it does present itself with a reflective solidarity and a youthful hopelessness that perhaps will open the eyes to the young audience watching and allow them to see the different shades of the debate.

Aired at 10pm on Tuesday 15 July 2014 on BBC Three.

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