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Woman's Hour Drama: Disconnected

15 Minute Drama: Disconnected: Episode 1

Disconnected

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - 15 Minute Drama, Disconnected, Episode 1

Following his son's separation, Ray is forbidden from seeing his granddaughter Ellie.

Following his son's separation, Ray is forbidden from seeing his granddaughter Ellie. And so the legal struggle begins for access to the child he loves.

By Richard Monks

1 of 5

Following his son's separation, Ray is forbidden to see Ellie, his granddaughter, And so the legal struggle begins for access to the child he loves. By Richard Monks., 

Ray.....Paul Copley
Rachel.....Julia Ford
Ellie.....Grace Clarke
Martin.....Alun Raglan
Policeman.....Simon Bubb
WPC.....Elaine Claxton

This is the heartbreaking story of Ray's fight for the right to see his granddaughter, Ellie, after his son and the girl's mother, Rachel, separate. When Rachel takes custody of Ellie, Ray is denied access. He has done nothing wrong but he soon learns that he has no legal right to see his granddaughter. What's more, there is precious little in the way of support for people in his situation. When Ray's son is killed in an accident and his ex-wife goes off the rails, Ray's struggle becomes even more urgent. His granddaughter needs him. And then Ray discovers that he is not alone.

Britain is a country with one of the highest rates of divorce, and the highest rate of teenage pregnancy, in Europe. Yet it's institutions, it's laws, are founded on an ever less common model of how the contemporary family is constituted. Children's primary carers may still be mothers and fathers, but with the rise in broken marriages and single-parenthood, there is an increasing reliance on atomised extended families - grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings - as carers. Yet these people, who can form deep bonds with the children they look after, have no legal status should things go wrong. 
Over the course of five episodes, it becomes clear that this issue is not black and white - there are no simple solutions. 'Disconnected' explores this complex dilemma in its most immediate and most moving form as it follows a sympathetic protagonist battling against a system seemingly devoid of feeling.

15 Minute Drama: Disconnected

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

By Richard Monks. A grandfather's struggle to gain access to his granddaughter

By Richard Monks. The story of a grandfather's struggle to gain access to his granddaughter

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