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25 February 2019

A new comedy created and written by Rufus Jones. Sami, an asylum-seeker from Syria arrives in Britain and finds himself living with a family in Dorking, Surrey. Over the next few months, while Sami waits for his application to be processed, he learns more than he expected about the people he’s living with, himself, and his own family somewhere in Europe.

Episode synopsis

Episode 1

Peter Guest has driven his new partner Katy, and her son John, back from their first holiday together. As they unpack the car, they are in for a super-sized surprise. Somehow they are going to have to come to terms with the loss of their luggage, the arrival of something that will change their lives forever, and the chance of criminal charges for people smuggling.

Episode 2

Sami is now an official asylum-seeker. Despite what Peter thinks, Katy is determined that Sami should stay for as long as he needs to, and since it’s her house, Peter can’t really object. John has organised the spare room to make it just like Damascus, and in return Sami introduces Katy and John to his new British friend Raj. Peter is given the job parenting John after his first day at a new school, but it is only a matter of hours before a stolen phone and something far more dodgy than a simple trip to a petting zoo put everything in jeopardy.

Episode 3

Sami is settling in and has finally made contact with his family, who are now safe and living with a lovely couple in Berlin. Katy persuades Sami to go to the local refugee centre, which he does despite his prejudices about table-tennis tables and dreadlocked Europeans. There he recognises an old acquaintance from Damascus. John is still living the nightmare of being at a new school and being taught by his mum. When he gets into a fight, Katy is forced to realise that John is angry about more than just an ingenious classroom prank. And while all this is happening, Peter has his worst prejudices about Sami confirmed, and the fallout from that discovery will have lasting consequences for them all.

Episode 4

With Sami now anxiously waiting for his substantive interview at the Home Office, and the rest of the family in melt-down, it’s a very difficult time for everyone. To distract him Katy gets Sami to do a talk at her school, and that turns into an opportunity for Sami to earn some cash in hand. By return, Sami decides to clear the air with Peter, and to help Katy and John by taking them to meet new friends at the refugee centre. But when this well-intentioned trip leads to something much more sinister, Sami is left with a situation that requires help from an unlikely direction.

Episode 5

Things are still tense between Sami and his wife Yasmine, who has now claimed asylum in Germany. Sami joins the black economy as a tutor but ends up getting much more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, Katy and John have to entertain the smug, gluten-free Germans who have come over from Berlin to persuade Sami to join Yasmine and George. John decides to call in some suitably-groomed reinforcements to bolster Sami’s side of the argument, but maybe that isn’t such a good idea.

Episode 6

With the day of his substantive interview fast approaching, Sami is desperate to make a good impression. But is Britain actually where his heart lies? Does he even understand what Britain is? Should he go to Berlin instead, to be with his family? Everyone except Yasmine has plenty of advice for him, but Sami remains confused. In the end, of course, the decision will rest in the hands of Sami’s Home Office interviewer. Meanwhile, Peter decides he has to make up for lost time with Katy and John and make some meaningful gestures.