King of the Ghetto is a 1986 British four-part television drama which was aired on BBC Two, it was directed and written by Farrukh Dhondy, and stars Tim Roth. The drama is about racial tensions in the East End of London in the 1980s.
Overview Set in and around Brick Lane, white Matthew Long (Tim Roth) mobilises his Bengali neighbours around a squatting campaign in defiance of the Labour-run council. Also, young Bengali vigilantes patrol the streets against National Front skinheads and white liberal Sadie Deedes (Gwyneth Strong) argues for an Islamic school. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi businessman Timur Hussein (Zia Mohyeddin) accumulates wealth and power by trading profitably with local politicians, criminals and police officers simultaneously.
Cast Tim Roth as Matthew Long Zia Mohyeddin as Timur Hussein Gwyneth Strong as Sadie Deedes Ian Dury as Sammy Ajay Kumar as Raja Dinesh Shukia as Saliq Miah Aftab Sachak as Riaz Miah Shelley King as Nasreen Begum Paul Anil as Jamal Ullah
Episodes
Reception In 2014, Dave Hill of The Guardian said, "In King of the Ghetto we see the unfolding of a grassroots struggle... Thirty years on, some things have changed, some have not, but the big themes explored in Dhondy's drama survive."
See also East End of London British Bangladeshi
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