Adapted from the original stage play of the same name.

Deep Cut is a radio adaptation of the award-winning production which has been performed at the Edinburgh Festival, in London and on tour in the UK. The central characters are Des and Doreen James, and the play follows their search for an answer as to why their 18 year old daughter Private Cheryl James was found shot dead at Deepcut training barracks on November 27th 1995.

The play was drawn together by writer Philip Ralph from verbatim transcripts of interviews, alongside publicly available documents. It traces the events surrounding Cheryl’s death from the points of view of her parents and her female Army friend Jonesy, weaving in the statements by Nicholas Blake QC, who was commissioned to carry out the judicial review, as well as, among others, comments from the independent forensics expert Frank Swann, and the journalist Brian Cathcart.

Des and Doreen are at the heart of the play and their poignant memories of their daughter alternate with bewilderment at her sudden and unexpected death. Cheryl was one of four recruits, each of whom was found shot dead between 1995 and 2002. The result of the review by Nicholas Blake in 2006 affirmed that the most likely explanation was suicide, and that there would not be a further public enquiry. Des and Doreen feel passionately that there are questions still to be answered.

Originally heard on BBC Radio 4 in January 2010 & Nov 2011.

© Ladbroke Productions (Radio) Ltd.