Three Girls is a three-part British television drama series, written by screenwriter Nicole Taylor, and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, broadcast on three consecutive nights between 16 and 18 May 2017 on BBC One.^[1] A co-production between BBC Studios and Studio Lambert, the series is a dramatised version of the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and describes how the authorities failed to investigate allegations of rape because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses, and the local authorities didn’t investigate through fear of being accused of racism because of the ethnicity of the perpetrators.^[2]

Three Girls drew a strong viewing audience upon its first broadcast, with 8.24 million viewers for episode one, 7.88 million for episode two and 8.19 million for episode three.^[3] The series was released on DVD in Region 2 on 8 January 2018.^[4]

A BBC documentary on the case, The Betrayed Girls, was broadcast on 3 July 2017 as a follow-up to the drama.^[5]

Plot

The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims: fourteen-year-old Holly Winshaw (Molly Windsor), sixteen-year-old Amber Bowen (Ria Zmitrowicz) and her younger sister Ruby (Liv Hill); although the focus later shifts to sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham (Maxine Peake), the main whistleblower who drew attention to the case after repeated pleas for help from social services and the police fell on deaf ears.

DC Margaret Oliver (Lesley Sharp), the lead investigator on the case, manages to gain the support of her superior officer, Sandy Guthrie (Jason Hughes) to instigate a full-blown investigation. However, despite significant evidence, the CPS decided to drop the case because of an “unrealistic prospect of conviction”. After Margaret convinces Amber Bowen to testify against her former boyfriend, Tariq (Wasim Zakir), the case is re-opened by recently appointed public prosecutor Nazir Afzal (Ace Bhatti), who with the assistance of the police and the victims involved, manages to secure convictions against ten men involved in the ring.^[6]

Rowbotham, Oliver, and Afzal all acted as consultants on the series.^[7]

Cast

• Maxine Peake as Sara Rowbotham
• Lesley Sharp as DC Margaret Oliver
• Molly Windsor as Holly Winshaw
• Ria Zmitrowicz as Amber Bowen
• Liv Hill as Ruby Bowen
• Ace Bhatti as Nazir Afzal
• Paul Kaye as Jim Winshaw
• Jill Halfpenny as Julie Winshaw
• Bo Bragason as Rachel Winshaw
• Lisa Riley as Lorna Bowen
• Naomi Radcliffe as Yvonne
• Jason Hughes as DC Sandy Guthrie
• Rupert Procter as DC Jack Harrop
• Ross Anderson as PC Richard Bryan
• Antonio Aakeel as Immy
• Wasim Zakir as Tariq
• Zee Sulleyman as Billy
• Simon Nagra as Daddy

Episodes

Link to Finsbury Park attack

In June 2017, a terrorist attack was launched against mosque-goers in Finsbury Park. The attacker, Darren Osborne, used a van to run over Muslim pedestrians, killing one man and injuring several others. In the course of the trial, it was remarked that Osborne developed an obsession with Muslims after watching Three Girls.^[9]

Reception

Accolades