Bradford on Duty - Season 1

Bradford was once the richest British city outside London, but after years of deindustrialisation and austerity, it is now one of the country's most deprived areas. While the frontline workers battle with health and social inequalities on the ground, their leaders are campaigning to improve the city's standing.

With access to Bradford's district nurses, police and council workers, we take viewers to the heart of northern England and follows the people dedicated to making their city a better place – from the frontline workers patrolling the streets all the way up to the leaders making strategic decisions in the city hall.

There are over 150 police community support officers (PCSOs) currently employed by West Yorkshire Police, all looking to care for the community of Bradford. Tom and his latest mentee Wojciech are on the beat dealing with everything from vehicle violations to homelessness on the streets.

With the loss of the city's industry, many of the its famous mills lie abandoned and wide open for them to become hubs of criminal activity. It falls on the PCSOs to try and keep them safe, and it isn't long before Tom and Wojciech end up in a multimillion-pound cannabis farm which they must destroy by hand to prevent any further activity.

More than 28% of Bradford's residents are under 18s, a higher proportion than any other city in the UK, leading council chiefs to proudly proclaim it to be Britain's youngest city. But overseeing such a young population also brings challenges - particularly when Bradford's child poverty rate is double the national average and youth services have been cut by 73% in the last decade.

This episode follows the police, fire service, community groups and councillors as they battle to protect Bradford from antisocial behaviour and work with the community to improve relationships.

With access to the frontline workers patrolling the streets all the way up to the leaders making strategic decisions in the City Hall, this episode follows those who are determined to help some of Bradford's most vulnerable residents, including victims of domestic violence and those struggling with alcohol addiction.

With a 150% rise in domestic abuse cases since 2015, particularly among the homeless population, and budget cuts for the council's alcohol recovery services, the situation is a difficult one for both police and council workers.

With access to the frontline workers patrolling the streets all the way up to the leaders making strategic decisions in the City Hall, the final episode
of the series focuses on how the NHS is trying to relieve pressure on hospitals by caring for patients in their own homes.

Community matrons Sandra and Julia tend to a patient in pain who has been waiting for a hospital appointment for over two years, after having it postponed during the pandemic. It provides a stark reminder that there are currently six million patients on NHS waiting lists, an increase of 50 per cent since the beginning of 2020.