Uprising: What is Sir Steve McQueen’s new BBC series about?

Uprising is Sir Steve McQueen’s brand new three-part series examining three major events in Black British history.

Co-directed by James Rogan, the programme will reveal how the New Cross fire, the Black People’s Day Of Action and the Brixton riots intertwined in 1981 and how, in the process, race relations were defined for a generation.

Packed with testimonials from the survivors, investigators, activists and representatives of the machinery of state, Uprising has been branded a ‘vivid and visceral’ re-telling.

Here’s everything you need to know about the three episodes.

What is Uprising about?

The first episode of Uprising, titled Fire, explores the story of the New Cross house fire of 1981, in which 13 young black British people died. It tells the stories of the young people who were at the party and the events that led up to it.

A picture from the New Cross fire protest in 1981 (Picture: Getty/BBC)

It also examines how the aftermath of the blaze ignited an uprising by the black British community.

Blame is the second episode, and picks up following the New Cross fire and the run-up to the Black People’s Day of Action.

As news spread about the fire at 439 New Cross Road, the scale of the tragedy overwhelmed the local community. Amid uncertainty about whether the fire had been caused by a racist firebomb attack, anger mounted at the police investigation and the seeming indifference of the press and the government to the loss of so many black lives.

The Black People’s Day of Action, a mass demonstration, was organised to bring the tragedy to the attention of the nation.

Uprising is a three-part series from Sir Steve McQueen (Picture: BBC)

The third and final episode in the series, The Front Line, explores the tensions between the community and the police that escalated when a massive stop-and-search operation was launched, targeting Black people on the streets of Brixton.

In April, the situation boiled over into one of the biggest riots in British history.

‘Buildings were burned down and hundreds of police injured,’ the synopsis teases.

‘Riots then flared up all over the country, from Southall to Toxteth, but by the year’s end, the people of New Cross were no closer to knowing who started the New Cross fire or why – and a lack of answers and justice has lingered over the case ever since.’

More: BBC

Uprising kicks off tonight on BBC One, with the remaining two episodes due to air on Wednesday and Thursday.

Uprising begins tonight at 9pm on BBC One.

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