Shadow World, Breakin' the Cycle, 1. The Script

Shadow World

Breakin' the Cycle

1. The Script

29 July 2026

Available for over a year

When aspiring movie editor Lewis Albrow lands an unusual interview with Colin Browne and his right-hand man D, he believes he’s finally found his break into the film industry - but instead he’s pulled into a very different world.

In prison, Colin Browne has written a script based on his life and his long-running criminal partnership with D, leading the gang Love of Money. But in Colin’s story, unlike in his life, the main protagonist manages to break free from his cycle of criminality.

When the pair reconnect after Colin’s release, they realise the script could be a way out of crime. They meet a smooth-talking fixer who promises to help them turn it into a movie, and begin a new chapter in their lives. But how serious are they about the film’s central theme - breaking the cycle of a life of crime?

Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow

Series Producer: Emma Barnaby

Producer: Louis Hollis

Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage

Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie

Script Editor: Jason Lewis

Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore

Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho

Production Executive: Letisha Kidza

Head of Production: Nicky Murphy

Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton

Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle.

Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong.

Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams

Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

A Raw production for BBC Radio 4