Contains some sexual content.

Shadow World, Breakin' the Cycle, 4. A New Direction

Shadow World

Breakin' the Cycle

4. A New Direction

19 August 2026

Available for over a year

With Colin now firmly in the director’s chair, Breakin’ the Cycle is transformed. Drawing directly from their lived experience, Colin unlocks startlingly authentic performances from the cast, turning what once looked like a cliched gangster film into something intimate, powerful, and deeply real.

As early edits reveal the film’s extraordinary potential, hope begins to take hold. This could be the project that finally changes Colin and D’s lives. But stepping into film-making doesn’t mean escaping the world they came from. When tensions flare on East London estates and old reputations are tested, the past begins to close in.

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