Waiting For The Out (2026) s01e04 Episode Script
Episode 4
Hey, Zac.
I'm leaving these for you.
You sure? Yeah.
You been a good pad-mate.
Much better than my last one.
Safe, Dris.
You mind yourself in here,
though, yeah?
Don't get into no passa passa.
Come on, man.
Yo, for real.
All right.
I'm gone!
My life!
Free at last, free at last!
Thank God Almighty,
Dris is free at last.
Yo, eat a McDonald's for me, yeah?
Actually, in fact, make it a KFC!
Yo, man will munch a whole bucket
meal in your honour, fam!
What up, G? Come on, my bro!
Come on, cuz! Come on!
Wagwan, Dan?
I might see you on the out.
It's your release day.
Good luck, Dris. You'll be missed.
Yeah, bullshit.
No, real quick, though.
So, what, you're going to finally
tell me where you're really from?
I told you where I'm from, Dris.
Yeah, but that was under
classroom settings.
I mean, now I'm a free man,
you can be real with me, innit?
Like, you ain't completely
white, are you?
You got a little suttin'-suttin',
a splish-splash in you
or somethin', innit?
No, both my parents are white,
born in England.
As were my grandparents.
Brother, be real.
All right, OK, if it helps,
my great-grandfather
was a Romany traveller.
See? I knew you had Roman
blood in you! No, Romany.
Yo, you know my son's
name's Roman, though?
Oh, wow. Oh, well,
I bet he can't wait to see you.
Yeah.
Look after yourself, Dan.
You too.
Getting out, bro.
I said fresh home!
From God, cuz!
Yo! Oh, Dris.
Yeah, cuz.
OK. Yeah.
Yeah, but it's 3:50 now
and my partner's
outside with my son.
He's three years old.
He's been waiting hours.
Look, the front desk
will keep her updated.
Can I get a message to her, then,
boss? We can't do that here.
The front desk will
keep her updated, OK?
But the shift changes at five
and they don't do evening releases
so, if the shifts change, do I
still get my release? Go ahead.
Brother, I'm in my out clothes!
Yeah, Miss, what's going on?
Cos I'm supposed to be
out four hours ago.
Sit down for a second, Dris.
Look, there's a shift change at five
and they don't do evening release.
Mm-hm. And, look,
I'm in my out clothes.
I've got 20 minutes
left and that's it.
There's been a miscommunication
between the prison staff
and the parole board about
your risk management plan.
It's not been done.
That means the paperwork
we have at the gate
is insufficient for your release.
We can't let you out, Dris.
So, what, I'm going to
have to wait till tomorrow?
The last time this happened,
it took about six weeks.
But I ain't going to lie -
it could be more.
The conditions of your licence
needs to be readmitted.
That's all got to go back
through the system.
It's my son's birthday on Saturday.
Now, there is a compensation scheme.
Get your solicitor onto it, yeah?
You're entitled
to £150 per night past
I don't know!
They don't even give you an answer!
Kim, it could be months.
I don't fucking know.
That's what I'm
Don't cry, please. Don't
Please, cos I've got to be
in here another six weeks.
All right, look, look, look, look,
look, my credit's running out, yeah?
Can I speak to Roman?
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah,
I get it, I get it, I ju
Nah, nah, nah, nah, I get it.
I ju
He just, he's disappointed, innit?
Like, it's not his fault.
You just tell him I love him
and tell him we'll do
birthday when I get out.
I promise.
And tell him I'll take him to
Kim?
Fuck, man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, break
that and you'll get written up.
I haven't fucking broken
anything, have I?! See?!
Dris, you need to calm down.
No, you need to back the fuck off!
Last chance and you're on basic.
No, go on, then! Put me on basic!
What more can you man do to me, fam?
It's because of you
guys' incompetence
why I'm still in this place,
you fucking prick!
You want to be careful, Dan.
Looking very comfortable
with this little fella.
Soon be after one of your own.
No, I'm too selfish, Laura.
Oh, that is what they
all say till it happens.
From what I hear
Oh, yeah, what do you hear?
Oh, well, I mean, look at ya.
You're all rosy, aren't ya?
No, I'm not rosy. Yeah, you are.
You're allperked up.
It's that new woman.
What's her name? Nadia?
Natasha. Natasha.
It's only been four weeks.
Yeah, but you smell nice, Dan.
It's a giveaway for a man.
It's a giveaway for YOUR man.
Oh, my man smells lovely.
Baby puke and Reese's Pieces,
what more could you ask?
All right, was that a dig?
It's a joke. Grumpy fuck.
Go to a meeting!
Oh, yeah, when can
I go to a meeting?
You've still not been to a meeting?
Oh, don't you start.
Well, you are looking tired.
Yeah, of course I look tired.
Have you seen how much
these things shit?
So you're seeing her again tonight?
Yeah. Yeah, I like her.
Well, don't fuck it up, Dan.
Why would I fuck it up?
Junkies always do.
How am I a junkie? I've never
touched a drug in my life.
That's the worst kind -
a junkie who doesn't do drugs.
That's all of the madness,
none of the mellow.
You do seem better, though.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think I am, a bit.
Getting a grip on some things.
Lee
..y-y-you had a compulsive thing,
right?
Oh, fuck, yeah.
I couldn't walk through a door
without closing it three times.
Every time I went through, open,
close, open, close, open, close.
Every single time.
This one night, me and a mate
were robbing a college,
arms full of DVD players, and we see
these four cops waiting for us,
so we drop the DVD players and
run like bollocks for the exit,
and these pigs,
they're right after us
Don't call them pigs!
But, anyway, they're plodding along,
we're well ahead.
That is until I go through a door.
And then I stop stone dead
and I shout, "Fuck's sake!"
And I have to run back and open and
close the bloody thing three times.
What happened?
Well, I opened it once and
there's a pig on the other side.
Don't call them pigs
in front of Dean!
He jumped on me,
along with his piggy mates.
And I got eight months for that.
And how-how did you break
free of it? The compulsion?
Sobered up.
Got Laura and Dean,
and then it just sort of
..shrinks.
Look, bro, these things,
they never really go.
It's about making 'em so small
that they don't matter any more.
Hey, I could babysit if you
want to get to a meeting.
Nah, nah, nah.
No, I'm fine. I'm good.
I'm good.
Hmm
WHISPERS: Come on.
Hey.
Hey. All right? Yeah.
Erm, I am so, so sorry, but I'm
going to have to cancel tonight.
Oh, really?
Yeah, I've lost my baby-sitter.
My gran's getting
these chest things,
so my mum has to take
her to the hospital.
Oh, God. She OK?
Fuck, yeah, she's fine.
Well, I mean, she's dying,
but she's been doing that for years.
And Tristan's dad's
working out of town,
so I've no-one to look after him,
so I'm really, really, really sorry.
That's OK.
No, no, I get it. That's cool. OK.
Did you come all
this way to tell me?
Well, I mean,
I didn't want to just text.
Wow. I'd've texted.
With someone else. Not with you.
Yeah.
So, what, are you just
going to go back home?
No, I promised him Nando's
to get him out the house.
Your son's here?
At the front desk,
glued to his iPad, so
I'm really sorry.
Oh, no. God, fuck, no.
Don't worry. OK. Erm
Thank you for coming all this way.
That's really impressive.
I know.
Better than a text, right?
I-I wouldn't've texted.
That That was just
That was me having an embolism.
Yeah! See you.
Wait there, just give me a sec.
Hey.
Erm
Look Why don't
we have an evening?
There's a crazy golf
place near here.
It's sort of grown-up,
but could be a laugh.
You mean with Tristan?
Well, you came all this way.
Idon't knowabout that
I don't let my son meet dates.
I don't I don't mean as dates.
I'll just be a friend, OK?
I'll be super platonic.
I'll even dampen down
my innate sexuality,
so he'll have no idea
how much you want me.
SHE CHUCKLES
See, it's you using words like
"sexuality" that worries me.
OK, look, erm
No pressure, all right?
But I think the three
of us could have a laugh.
There'll be nothing remotely
datey about it, I swear.
I've passed it to him.
He shoots, completely misses,
and hits the coach on his head.
What's that? Nothing.
How is he? Pff Spark out.
Yeah, I bet.
Sohe's amazing.
Yeah, sometimes.
Look, erm, I am
not going to ask you to stay.
You get that? Yeah, course.
I didn't expect that. OK.
In fact, I'm not even going to
ask for my statutory kiss,
which is my right by law.
Ah
God, such a hero.
If only all men could be like you.
Oh, yeah, I know.
Look, I'm justjust walking.
Leaving. Asking for nothing.
It's So evolved.
Asks for nothing but credit
for being mildly decent.
Oh, wow.
You admit that I'm decent.
Mildly. That is, mildly decent.
Yeah. OK.
I'll take that
..and go.
Of course it's the same ship!
Why? Cos it's the same ship!
But all of the parts
have been replaced -
boards, the masts, the rudder.
Everything changed.
Has the sail been replaced, Dan?
Macca, all of it's been replaced.
Look, is it still Theseus' ship?
Yes. Then it's the same ship.
Hold on, hold on.
He just said, over seven years,
every single fucking part
of the thing has been replaced.
How is it still the same?
Well, I'm eight years into ten,
you're telling me the only thing
left of me is my sentence?
So why aren't I being let out?
Fuck me, irrefutable logic.
I'm converted.
The ship's not the same.
Where's my release papers?
What about the rigging, Dan?
That's been replaced too.
And the toilets?
Not just the seats,
but the pipes as well?
Macca, every part of the
ship has been replaced.
That's the point of
the thought experiment.
What about the gunwales?
What the fuck are gunwales?
Listen, every time you
come back behind the doors,
they issue you with the same
number from your last sentence.
Don't matter if you've been gone,
like, ten days or ten years,
you get the same number.
You can't get away from you.
We are what we are.
We are what the world sees.
The world won't let us be different.
You heard of the Curse of Ham, Dan?
It's about Noah from the Bible
and one of his sons called Ham.
Ham? You mean like a ham sandwich?
Yeah, like a ham sandwich.
Noah gets pissed, ends up naked.
Instead of covering up his dad,
Ham calls his brothers
over to laugh at him.
And Noah was humiliated,
so he curses Ham and says that
his descendants will forever be
slaves to his brothers
and their descendants.
Did you know Ham was black?
Ugh Really?
Bollocks. Fuckin' hell, here we go.
Don't listen to him, Dan.
It's just some ye olde propaganda
to justify keeping
black people in chains.
OK, so explain to me why black
people are the most abused people
in the history of this planet,
from slavery to colonialism?
Strap yourselves in, lads,
this is going to take a while.
This skin is the most
feared skin in the world
and no-one can't tell me why.
It's illogical,
it doesn't make sense.
It's a curse.
You see, where I'm from,
there's loads of mixed-race kids.
Those lassies, they're definitely
not scared of black skin,
I can tell you that.
No disrespect to you, Keith,
but this is black
people only business.
But, Junior, this whole
Curse of Ham shit,
it fuelled the slave trade, man.
It was an excuse.
Like, they don't even know how
many black people got killed.
Look, I saw a historian on some
documentary trying to guess
"around 60 million".
Like, imagine having to
guess 60 million, huh?
It's evil, but it ain't
down to some magical curse.
All right, look what's
happening to Dris.
Oh, for fuck's sake!
Wait, I thought I thought
Dris just got release?
Nah, the govs fucked his paperwork.
He's in here for another six weeks.
His wife and kid are outside,
the man's broken,
he barely comes out his pad.
No-one ain't telling me
that's not a curse!
Black lads aren't the only ones
who get fucked over in this place.
I've seen it happen to all shades.
Yeah, but Dris got put on basic
because he got pissed
off about it, yeah?
And he was right to get pissed off.
Yeah.
He's telling his missus, a gov gives
him shit, he gets put on basic.
Do you think that's
happening to you?
Course not.
You're all right
cos you're all white.
Hey! That's racist!
It's the Curse of Ham, bro.
Fingerprints.
It don't matter how
much you've changed,
you can still get nicked
from your fingerprints.
LAUGHTER
Fuckin' crazy
Thanks, Malik. Bye.
Er, Greg?
Erm, we talked about getting
you a laptop for your memoir.
What, you did it?
N Sorry, no.
Erm, sorry, Greg.
They said security concerns
and there's a shortage.
Yeah, I knew it wouldn't work.
Never fucking does, does it?
Try writing it slower?
I'm sure, if you did that, then
What for?
What difference does it make, man?
Sorry, Greg.
Hey, Dan, Dan.
You know that, er
..wee bit of business that
you and I were talking about?
You and I don't have
business, Keith.
No, I know, I know, but, if we did,
there's been a development.
The clock is ticking, Daniel.
There's talk of early release.
All right, you might want to say no,
and that's totally cool by me,
I get it, but, for God's sake,
you don't want to miss out on this
just because you did nothing
OK, I have said no, OK?
I've said no.
Aye, you did.
Kind of.
And Man U
DAN LAUGHS
See?
What team do you support, may I ask?
No, thanks anyway. Erm
Yeah, erm
That's all right, don't worry.
No, no, no, I get it, it's cool.
All right.
Yeah, OK. Bye, bye.
Hi, Lou, it's Natasha.
Er, listen, I've lost my
childcare for tomorrow night
and I'm really desperate,
and I know this is a long shot,
but, if you did happen to be free,
give me a call.
Can't find anyone?
No, and I'm trying not to be
pissed off, but I have to be there.
It's, like, once a year.
I mean, it's only three hours,
I could duck out after
introducing the speakers,
but that's not
going to go down well.
Right. And his dad can't?
No, he's still away with work.
I could do it.
Saturday, right?
I'll take him bowling or something.
Does he do bowling at his age?
He loves bowling. Yeah.
Dan, I can't ask you to do that.
No, it's fine.
Couple of hours.
Besides, what choice have you got?
Are you sure? Yeah.
I mean, this isn't a small thing.
This is, this is
I'm completely sure.
I'm free, he's hilarious.
We'll bowl.
Oh, my God!
Thank you.
Have you thought of names
for your son? Thanks, Dan.
Cheers, boys. Thanks, boss.
Yeah, what are you
going to call him?
So I'm thinking to name
my son Malik Junior
Hey, Dris.
You heard about what happened to me?
I did, yeah.
Erm
I'm really sorry.
I saw some of the guys
They record themselves
reading a children's story,
like, so they can
send it to their kid.
It's so the kid don't
forget their dad's voice.
You get what I'm saying?
Yeah, I know about that.
Well, I've never done one before.
And I thought, cos I'm
missing Roman's birthday,
I thought maybe I should.
Well, that sounds really positive.
The thing is,
I don't really read so great.
Like, I ain't done it
out loud in a while
..so I wanted to practise
so that I don't sound stupid.
And I thought maybe you could help.
Yeah.
Yeah, course.
Ah, look, Dris, a lot of the guys
in here struggle with literacy
Yo, yo, yo, I ain't illiterate!
No, I'm not I'm not saying
that you're illiterate
No, bro, I can read, yeah?
I ain't illiterate.
I just ain't done it
out loud in a while.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, II get that.
Well, yes, I can I can help.
You want to try now?
What, now?
Yeah, they've got
literacy in the library.
It's a good time to practise.
HE SCOFFS
Yeah, bro, I just need help
brushing off the reading cobwebs
and I'll be gravy, fam.
All right. Well, let's go do that.
There's a table, look.
"..likesur"
"Surprise."
"..sursurprise for the fox"
Ain't the prison going to
be heard in the background?
I don't want that.
Oh, yeah.
There. Closed.
Yeah, but I just don't think the
acoustics are right in here, Dan.
That's OK, we're not
recording yet, so
Yeah, but
..but you have to practise
properly or what's the point?
Mm-mm!
Yeah, no, no, no,
that's a monster book.
It's a kids' book, Dris. Where The
Wild Things Are. It's lovely.
I don't want to scare him.
This won't fucking scare him.
But you don't know my son!
And don't swear at me,
you're swearing at man.
It's OK, all right?
Just a little nervous.
No, no, no, no, no!
Man's not nervous!
Who the fuck said I was nervous?!
You need to simmer down, Dris.
You're already on basic.
What, is that a threat?!
Is that what this is?!
OK, look, let's
let's not overreact.
Excuse me?
Dris, you don't have to be scared.
Bro, scared?!
No, I Who the fuck
said I was scared, bruv?!
Bro, you can fuck right off!
Dris, I need you to calm down!
Get the fuck off me, man! Dris!
Fucking get off!
No! You fucking bitch!
You're a fucking sell-out!
You're a sell-out, bruv!
You're a fucking sell-out!
Fuck off! Fuck all of you, man!
You're a fucking bitch!
Jesus Christ! You prick!
I mean, was that necessary?
You are not a prison officer!
You do not decide what is necessary!
When I am dealing with an
inmate in a heightened state,
I'd appreciate you to fuck off!
Of course he's in
a heightened state!
Did you hear what happened to him?
Mm-hm. Well, would you treat
Greg like that? Oror Wallace?
What did you just say to me?
I know you are not accusing me
of what I think you are.
You're losing your fucking mind,
you know that?
Yeah.
Get a grip or get the fuck out!
Cheers!
Do you look like your dad?
Erm
Yeah. Yeah, I do.
I didn't when I was younger
but, as time goes on,
I can see more and more of him.
Makes looking in the mirror hard.
You don't want to look like him?
Nah. No, I don't.
I don't want to be
anything like him.
What about you?
Do you look like your dad?
My mum said I have his chin.
Do you see him much?
He lives in Walthamstow.
I see him all the time.
My mum and him,
they used to be a bit grumpy,
but now they get on good.
That's good.
It's good they can do that.
Can I ask you something, Dan? Yeah.
You my mum's boyfriend?
Erm
It's not something we've said.
But you like her?
Yeah.
Yeah, I do.
I knew it. She likes you.
I don't need a new dad.
I've already got one of those.
But I like you. You're funny.
Thanks.
You're funny too.
Er, OK. Er, two seconds, Trist.
Hey, Unc.
He's doing security
on a loading bay.
Big shopping centre on
Stead Street in Southwark.
Does evenings apparently.
Who?
Who do you think, Dan? Your dad.
You asked me to ask around.
Yeah
Are Are you sure it's him?
Not 100%.
A mate of mine said it looked like
him with a shaved fucking head.
Where are you now? Waterloo.
It's Saturday,
it'll be quiet down there.
Dan, if I was you,
I'd give it a miss.
That man was a fucking curse.
Do not bring him back
into your life, OK?
Yes! Yes, yes, yes!
Dan?
Yeah, fuck it.
I'm going to give it a miss.
Excuse me?
Could you take a right here, please?
Yeah. Thank you.
Thanks.
We going down there, Dan?
Yeah. Yeah, we're just
going to take a peek.
Is that OK? Yeah.
All right, come on.
What if it is your dad?
I Honestly, er
I don't know.
Whoa, hang on.
Hang on, Trist.
Two secs.
Is that him?
Erm
I I don't know.
We could see him from over there.
Yeah, no, I-I don't want him
to know that we're here.
Hm.
What about up there?
Er
Yeah.
Yeah, come on.
OK
Erm OK.
Tristan, wait here for me.
Just wait in here.
Erm I'm going to quickly
jump on here, all right?
Yeah, I'll be quick.
OK, you wait there.
Mm-hm. OK.
Do you want me to come up?
Shall I come up?
Dan!
No, Tri No, Tris Tristan
Argh! Tristan!
Do you understand what happens
when you bring a child
with a broken arm into A&E at night?
I have Social Services on me now!
I'm on their fucking files!
I am so, so sorry.
What?
You're fucking sorry?
I shouldn't have been there.
I got a call from my uncle.
He said that my dad
worked in that loading bay.
You took my son there because
you wanted to see your dad?
No, I I-I didn't
want to see him, I just
I just
I wanted to know where he was.
But it wasn't him anyway.
What the fuck has any of that
got to do with my son, Dan?
He broke his arm.
I've had him for 11 years,
not so much as a fucking sprain.
You have him for ten minutes
I'm so, so sorry.
Stop saying you're fucking sorry!
I mean, I can't believe
I left him with you.
I mean, I let you meet
and I never do that.
I mean, what kind of mother am I?
You're a gr You're a great mum.
I'm on their fucking files, Dan!
Erm
Look, can I go in and see Tristan?
No.
No, you can't.
You cannot see my son ever again.
So just go.
Thanks for picking me up.
No problem.
I mean, it's only 1:30
on a Sunday morning
and I've got a four-month-old -
it's not like I need
fucking sleep or anything.
Jesus, Lee.
Well, look at the state of ya!
What?
You're out of control, mate.
No, I'm not.
You're riddled with compulsive
behaviour, you endangered the
life of a child, you just shat all
over a decent woman who trusts ya,
you're spending half
your life in prison.
I mean, who does that remind you of?
Oh, fuck off, Lee.
What are you doing in prison, Dan?
Why are you doing all this?
Cos you're spinning out.
Yeah, what about you?
Me? Yeah.
You're snapping at Laura,
you're not going to meetings,
you're not taking care of yourself,
won't let me help you.
How could you help me?
I offered to look after Dean.
Well, you'd be the perfect
baby-sitter, wouldn't ya?
Just saying, OK?
I offered, all right?
You need to take care of yourself
and if you need space from Dean
IT'S NOT DEAN!
IT'S YOU!
I told you!
I said, it's not just your life!
It's mine, it's Mum's as well.
You're searching for that man!
You're digging up the past, you're
bringing him back into our lives.
It It's like you're dragging
a fucking corpse into a living room!
I can't have it, Dan.
That man
I can't.
I've got a son now.
I can't have him back. I can't.
Well, I don't want him back.
I'm not trying to bring him back.
I'm not searching for him
So what was tonight, then?
I just wanted to know where he was.
Do you really believe that?
Oh, fuck this. I need to go to bed.
Look, Lee, Lee Oh, by the
way, don't ever fucking call me
at this hour again unless
it's an actual emergency
cos Laura ain't going to
get to sleep for hours now,
and fuck knows when
Dean's going to go down.
I mean, what's wrong with
a fucking night bus?
I wanted to see my brother.
Well, look at a fucking picture.
That's if you can find one amongst
the shots of your fucking cooker.
FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!
Fuck!
Jesus fucking Christ!
Fuck
This is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Hey, Roman.
It's Daddy speaking.
I'm going to read you a story
called The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
"In
"In the light of the moon,
a little egg lay on a leaf.
"One Sunday morning, the warm sun
"..came up, and pop - out of the egg
"came a tiny and very
hungry caterpillar.
"On Monday, he ate
through one apple.
"But he was still hungry.
"On Tuesday, he ate
through two pears.
"But he was still hungry."
No, I know.
"On Wednesday, he ate three plums."
I don't bloody understand it either.
"But he was still hungry.
"On Thursday, he ate through
one slice of salami"
And, er, how are you finding
it with looking after Tristan
whilst you're at work?
Yeah.
"..and one slice of watermelon.
"That night, he had a stomach ache!
"He built a small house,
called a cocoon, around himself.
"He stayed inside for
more than two weeks.
"Then he nibbled
a hole in the cocoon,
"pushed his way out and
"..he was a beautiful butterfly."
And that's the end.
Daddy loves you very much, Roman.
You sleep well now, OK?
HE SNIFFS
Was that all right?
Yeah.
Yeah, that was all right.
I'm leaving these for you.
You sure? Yeah.
You been a good pad-mate.
Much better than my last one.
Safe, Dris.
You mind yourself in here,
though, yeah?
Don't get into no passa passa.
Come on, man.
Yo, for real.
All right.
I'm gone!
My life!
Free at last, free at last!
Thank God Almighty,
Dris is free at last.
Yo, eat a McDonald's for me, yeah?
Actually, in fact, make it a KFC!
Yo, man will munch a whole bucket
meal in your honour, fam!
What up, G? Come on, my bro!
Come on, cuz! Come on!
Wagwan, Dan?
I might see you on the out.
It's your release day.
Good luck, Dris. You'll be missed.
Yeah, bullshit.
No, real quick, though.
So, what, you're going to finally
tell me where you're really from?
I told you where I'm from, Dris.
Yeah, but that was under
classroom settings.
I mean, now I'm a free man,
you can be real with me, innit?
Like, you ain't completely
white, are you?
You got a little suttin'-suttin',
a splish-splash in you
or somethin', innit?
No, both my parents are white,
born in England.
As were my grandparents.
Brother, be real.
All right, OK, if it helps,
my great-grandfather
was a Romany traveller.
See? I knew you had Roman
blood in you! No, Romany.
Yo, you know my son's
name's Roman, though?
Oh, wow. Oh, well,
I bet he can't wait to see you.
Yeah.
Look after yourself, Dan.
You too.
Getting out, bro.
I said fresh home!
From God, cuz!
Yo! Oh, Dris.
Yeah, cuz.
OK. Yeah.
Yeah, but it's 3:50 now
and my partner's
outside with my son.
He's three years old.
He's been waiting hours.
Look, the front desk
will keep her updated.
Can I get a message to her, then,
boss? We can't do that here.
The front desk will
keep her updated, OK?
But the shift changes at five
and they don't do evening releases
so, if the shifts change, do I
still get my release? Go ahead.
Brother, I'm in my out clothes!
Yeah, Miss, what's going on?
Cos I'm supposed to be
out four hours ago.
Sit down for a second, Dris.
Look, there's a shift change at five
and they don't do evening release.
Mm-hm. And, look,
I'm in my out clothes.
I've got 20 minutes
left and that's it.
There's been a miscommunication
between the prison staff
and the parole board about
your risk management plan.
It's not been done.
That means the paperwork
we have at the gate
is insufficient for your release.
We can't let you out, Dris.
So, what, I'm going to
have to wait till tomorrow?
The last time this happened,
it took about six weeks.
But I ain't going to lie -
it could be more.
The conditions of your licence
needs to be readmitted.
That's all got to go back
through the system.
It's my son's birthday on Saturday.
Now, there is a compensation scheme.
Get your solicitor onto it, yeah?
You're entitled
to £150 per night past
I don't know!
They don't even give you an answer!
Kim, it could be months.
I don't fucking know.
That's what I'm
Don't cry, please. Don't
Please, cos I've got to be
in here another six weeks.
All right, look, look, look, look,
look, my credit's running out, yeah?
Can I speak to Roman?
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah,
I get it, I get it, I ju
Nah, nah, nah, nah, I get it.
I ju
He just, he's disappointed, innit?
Like, it's not his fault.
You just tell him I love him
and tell him we'll do
birthday when I get out.
I promise.
And tell him I'll take him to
Kim?
Fuck, man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, break
that and you'll get written up.
I haven't fucking broken
anything, have I?! See?!
Dris, you need to calm down.
No, you need to back the fuck off!
Last chance and you're on basic.
No, go on, then! Put me on basic!
What more can you man do to me, fam?
It's because of you
guys' incompetence
why I'm still in this place,
you fucking prick!
You want to be careful, Dan.
Looking very comfortable
with this little fella.
Soon be after one of your own.
No, I'm too selfish, Laura.
Oh, that is what they
all say till it happens.
From what I hear
Oh, yeah, what do you hear?
Oh, well, I mean, look at ya.
You're all rosy, aren't ya?
No, I'm not rosy. Yeah, you are.
You're allperked up.
It's that new woman.
What's her name? Nadia?
Natasha. Natasha.
It's only been four weeks.
Yeah, but you smell nice, Dan.
It's a giveaway for a man.
It's a giveaway for YOUR man.
Oh, my man smells lovely.
Baby puke and Reese's Pieces,
what more could you ask?
All right, was that a dig?
It's a joke. Grumpy fuck.
Go to a meeting!
Oh, yeah, when can
I go to a meeting?
You've still not been to a meeting?
Oh, don't you start.
Well, you are looking tired.
Yeah, of course I look tired.
Have you seen how much
these things shit?
So you're seeing her again tonight?
Yeah. Yeah, I like her.
Well, don't fuck it up, Dan.
Why would I fuck it up?
Junkies always do.
How am I a junkie? I've never
touched a drug in my life.
That's the worst kind -
a junkie who doesn't do drugs.
That's all of the madness,
none of the mellow.
You do seem better, though.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think I am, a bit.
Getting a grip on some things.
Lee
..y-y-you had a compulsive thing,
right?
Oh, fuck, yeah.
I couldn't walk through a door
without closing it three times.
Every time I went through, open,
close, open, close, open, close.
Every single time.
This one night, me and a mate
were robbing a college,
arms full of DVD players, and we see
these four cops waiting for us,
so we drop the DVD players and
run like bollocks for the exit,
and these pigs,
they're right after us
Don't call them pigs!
But, anyway, they're plodding along,
we're well ahead.
That is until I go through a door.
And then I stop stone dead
and I shout, "Fuck's sake!"
And I have to run back and open and
close the bloody thing three times.
What happened?
Well, I opened it once and
there's a pig on the other side.
Don't call them pigs
in front of Dean!
He jumped on me,
along with his piggy mates.
And I got eight months for that.
And how-how did you break
free of it? The compulsion?
Sobered up.
Got Laura and Dean,
and then it just sort of
..shrinks.
Look, bro, these things,
they never really go.
It's about making 'em so small
that they don't matter any more.
Hey, I could babysit if you
want to get to a meeting.
Nah, nah, nah.
No, I'm fine. I'm good.
I'm good.
Hmm
WHISPERS: Come on.
Hey.
Hey. All right? Yeah.
Erm, I am so, so sorry, but I'm
going to have to cancel tonight.
Oh, really?
Yeah, I've lost my baby-sitter.
My gran's getting
these chest things,
so my mum has to take
her to the hospital.
Oh, God. She OK?
Fuck, yeah, she's fine.
Well, I mean, she's dying,
but she's been doing that for years.
And Tristan's dad's
working out of town,
so I've no-one to look after him,
so I'm really, really, really sorry.
That's OK.
No, no, I get it. That's cool. OK.
Did you come all
this way to tell me?
Well, I mean,
I didn't want to just text.
Wow. I'd've texted.
With someone else. Not with you.
Yeah.
So, what, are you just
going to go back home?
No, I promised him Nando's
to get him out the house.
Your son's here?
At the front desk,
glued to his iPad, so
I'm really sorry.
Oh, no. God, fuck, no.
Don't worry. OK. Erm
Thank you for coming all this way.
That's really impressive.
I know.
Better than a text, right?
I-I wouldn't've texted.
That That was just
That was me having an embolism.
Yeah! See you.
Wait there, just give me a sec.
Hey.
Erm
Look Why don't
we have an evening?
There's a crazy golf
place near here.
It's sort of grown-up,
but could be a laugh.
You mean with Tristan?
Well, you came all this way.
Idon't knowabout that
I don't let my son meet dates.
I don't I don't mean as dates.
I'll just be a friend, OK?
I'll be super platonic.
I'll even dampen down
my innate sexuality,
so he'll have no idea
how much you want me.
SHE CHUCKLES
See, it's you using words like
"sexuality" that worries me.
OK, look, erm
No pressure, all right?
But I think the three
of us could have a laugh.
There'll be nothing remotely
datey about it, I swear.
I've passed it to him.
He shoots, completely misses,
and hits the coach on his head.
What's that? Nothing.
How is he? Pff Spark out.
Yeah, I bet.
Sohe's amazing.
Yeah, sometimes.
Look, erm, I am
not going to ask you to stay.
You get that? Yeah, course.
I didn't expect that. OK.
In fact, I'm not even going to
ask for my statutory kiss,
which is my right by law.
Ah
God, such a hero.
If only all men could be like you.
Oh, yeah, I know.
Look, I'm justjust walking.
Leaving. Asking for nothing.
It's So evolved.
Asks for nothing but credit
for being mildly decent.
Oh, wow.
You admit that I'm decent.
Mildly. That is, mildly decent.
Yeah. OK.
I'll take that
..and go.
Of course it's the same ship!
Why? Cos it's the same ship!
But all of the parts
have been replaced -
boards, the masts, the rudder.
Everything changed.
Has the sail been replaced, Dan?
Macca, all of it's been replaced.
Look, is it still Theseus' ship?
Yes. Then it's the same ship.
Hold on, hold on.
He just said, over seven years,
every single fucking part
of the thing has been replaced.
How is it still the same?
Well, I'm eight years into ten,
you're telling me the only thing
left of me is my sentence?
So why aren't I being let out?
Fuck me, irrefutable logic.
I'm converted.
The ship's not the same.
Where's my release papers?
What about the rigging, Dan?
That's been replaced too.
And the toilets?
Not just the seats,
but the pipes as well?
Macca, every part of the
ship has been replaced.
That's the point of
the thought experiment.
What about the gunwales?
What the fuck are gunwales?
Listen, every time you
come back behind the doors,
they issue you with the same
number from your last sentence.
Don't matter if you've been gone,
like, ten days or ten years,
you get the same number.
You can't get away from you.
We are what we are.
We are what the world sees.
The world won't let us be different.
You heard of the Curse of Ham, Dan?
It's about Noah from the Bible
and one of his sons called Ham.
Ham? You mean like a ham sandwich?
Yeah, like a ham sandwich.
Noah gets pissed, ends up naked.
Instead of covering up his dad,
Ham calls his brothers
over to laugh at him.
And Noah was humiliated,
so he curses Ham and says that
his descendants will forever be
slaves to his brothers
and their descendants.
Did you know Ham was black?
Ugh Really?
Bollocks. Fuckin' hell, here we go.
Don't listen to him, Dan.
It's just some ye olde propaganda
to justify keeping
black people in chains.
OK, so explain to me why black
people are the most abused people
in the history of this planet,
from slavery to colonialism?
Strap yourselves in, lads,
this is going to take a while.
This skin is the most
feared skin in the world
and no-one can't tell me why.
It's illogical,
it doesn't make sense.
It's a curse.
You see, where I'm from,
there's loads of mixed-race kids.
Those lassies, they're definitely
not scared of black skin,
I can tell you that.
No disrespect to you, Keith,
but this is black
people only business.
But, Junior, this whole
Curse of Ham shit,
it fuelled the slave trade, man.
It was an excuse.
Like, they don't even know how
many black people got killed.
Look, I saw a historian on some
documentary trying to guess
"around 60 million".
Like, imagine having to
guess 60 million, huh?
It's evil, but it ain't
down to some magical curse.
All right, look what's
happening to Dris.
Oh, for fuck's sake!
Wait, I thought I thought
Dris just got release?
Nah, the govs fucked his paperwork.
He's in here for another six weeks.
His wife and kid are outside,
the man's broken,
he barely comes out his pad.
No-one ain't telling me
that's not a curse!
Black lads aren't the only ones
who get fucked over in this place.
I've seen it happen to all shades.
Yeah, but Dris got put on basic
because he got pissed
off about it, yeah?
And he was right to get pissed off.
Yeah.
He's telling his missus, a gov gives
him shit, he gets put on basic.
Do you think that's
happening to you?
Course not.
You're all right
cos you're all white.
Hey! That's racist!
It's the Curse of Ham, bro.
Fingerprints.
It don't matter how
much you've changed,
you can still get nicked
from your fingerprints.
LAUGHTER
Fuckin' crazy
Thanks, Malik. Bye.
Er, Greg?
Erm, we talked about getting
you a laptop for your memoir.
What, you did it?
N Sorry, no.
Erm, sorry, Greg.
They said security concerns
and there's a shortage.
Yeah, I knew it wouldn't work.
Never fucking does, does it?
Try writing it slower?
I'm sure, if you did that, then
What for?
What difference does it make, man?
Sorry, Greg.
Hey, Dan, Dan.
You know that, er
..wee bit of business that
you and I were talking about?
You and I don't have
business, Keith.
No, I know, I know, but, if we did,
there's been a development.
The clock is ticking, Daniel.
There's talk of early release.
All right, you might want to say no,
and that's totally cool by me,
I get it, but, for God's sake,
you don't want to miss out on this
just because you did nothing
OK, I have said no, OK?
I've said no.
Aye, you did.
Kind of.
And Man U
DAN LAUGHS
See?
What team do you support, may I ask?
No, thanks anyway. Erm
Yeah, erm
That's all right, don't worry.
No, no, no, I get it, it's cool.
All right.
Yeah, OK. Bye, bye.
Hi, Lou, it's Natasha.
Er, listen, I've lost my
childcare for tomorrow night
and I'm really desperate,
and I know this is a long shot,
but, if you did happen to be free,
give me a call.
Can't find anyone?
No, and I'm trying not to be
pissed off, but I have to be there.
It's, like, once a year.
I mean, it's only three hours,
I could duck out after
introducing the speakers,
but that's not
going to go down well.
Right. And his dad can't?
No, he's still away with work.
I could do it.
Saturday, right?
I'll take him bowling or something.
Does he do bowling at his age?
He loves bowling. Yeah.
Dan, I can't ask you to do that.
No, it's fine.
Couple of hours.
Besides, what choice have you got?
Are you sure? Yeah.
I mean, this isn't a small thing.
This is, this is
I'm completely sure.
I'm free, he's hilarious.
We'll bowl.
Oh, my God!
Thank you.
Have you thought of names
for your son? Thanks, Dan.
Cheers, boys. Thanks, boss.
Yeah, what are you
going to call him?
So I'm thinking to name
my son Malik Junior
Hey, Dris.
You heard about what happened to me?
I did, yeah.
Erm
I'm really sorry.
I saw some of the guys
They record themselves
reading a children's story,
like, so they can
send it to their kid.
It's so the kid don't
forget their dad's voice.
You get what I'm saying?
Yeah, I know about that.
Well, I've never done one before.
And I thought, cos I'm
missing Roman's birthday,
I thought maybe I should.
Well, that sounds really positive.
The thing is,
I don't really read so great.
Like, I ain't done it
out loud in a while
..so I wanted to practise
so that I don't sound stupid.
And I thought maybe you could help.
Yeah.
Yeah, course.
Ah, look, Dris, a lot of the guys
in here struggle with literacy
Yo, yo, yo, I ain't illiterate!
No, I'm not I'm not saying
that you're illiterate
No, bro, I can read, yeah?
I ain't illiterate.
I just ain't done it
out loud in a while.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, II get that.
Well, yes, I can I can help.
You want to try now?
What, now?
Yeah, they've got
literacy in the library.
It's a good time to practise.
HE SCOFFS
Yeah, bro, I just need help
brushing off the reading cobwebs
and I'll be gravy, fam.
All right. Well, let's go do that.
There's a table, look.
"..likesur"
"Surprise."
"..sursurprise for the fox"
Ain't the prison going to
be heard in the background?
I don't want that.
Oh, yeah.
There. Closed.
Yeah, but I just don't think the
acoustics are right in here, Dan.
That's OK, we're not
recording yet, so
Yeah, but
..but you have to practise
properly or what's the point?
Mm-mm!
Yeah, no, no, no,
that's a monster book.
It's a kids' book, Dris. Where The
Wild Things Are. It's lovely.
I don't want to scare him.
This won't fucking scare him.
But you don't know my son!
And don't swear at me,
you're swearing at man.
It's OK, all right?
Just a little nervous.
No, no, no, no, no!
Man's not nervous!
Who the fuck said I was nervous?!
You need to simmer down, Dris.
You're already on basic.
What, is that a threat?!
Is that what this is?!
OK, look, let's
let's not overreact.
Excuse me?
Dris, you don't have to be scared.
Bro, scared?!
No, I Who the fuck
said I was scared, bruv?!
Bro, you can fuck right off!
Dris, I need you to calm down!
Get the fuck off me, man! Dris!
Fucking get off!
No! You fucking bitch!
You're a fucking sell-out!
You're a sell-out, bruv!
You're a fucking sell-out!
Fuck off! Fuck all of you, man!
You're a fucking bitch!
Jesus Christ! You prick!
I mean, was that necessary?
You are not a prison officer!
You do not decide what is necessary!
When I am dealing with an
inmate in a heightened state,
I'd appreciate you to fuck off!
Of course he's in
a heightened state!
Did you hear what happened to him?
Mm-hm. Well, would you treat
Greg like that? Oror Wallace?
What did you just say to me?
I know you are not accusing me
of what I think you are.
You're losing your fucking mind,
you know that?
Yeah.
Get a grip or get the fuck out!
Cheers!
Do you look like your dad?
Erm
Yeah. Yeah, I do.
I didn't when I was younger
but, as time goes on,
I can see more and more of him.
Makes looking in the mirror hard.
You don't want to look like him?
Nah. No, I don't.
I don't want to be
anything like him.
What about you?
Do you look like your dad?
My mum said I have his chin.
Do you see him much?
He lives in Walthamstow.
I see him all the time.
My mum and him,
they used to be a bit grumpy,
but now they get on good.
That's good.
It's good they can do that.
Can I ask you something, Dan? Yeah.
You my mum's boyfriend?
Erm
It's not something we've said.
But you like her?
Yeah.
Yeah, I do.
I knew it. She likes you.
I don't need a new dad.
I've already got one of those.
But I like you. You're funny.
Thanks.
You're funny too.
Er, OK. Er, two seconds, Trist.
Hey, Unc.
He's doing security
on a loading bay.
Big shopping centre on
Stead Street in Southwark.
Does evenings apparently.
Who?
Who do you think, Dan? Your dad.
You asked me to ask around.
Yeah
Are Are you sure it's him?
Not 100%.
A mate of mine said it looked like
him with a shaved fucking head.
Where are you now? Waterloo.
It's Saturday,
it'll be quiet down there.
Dan, if I was you,
I'd give it a miss.
That man was a fucking curse.
Do not bring him back
into your life, OK?
Yes! Yes, yes, yes!
Dan?
Yeah, fuck it.
I'm going to give it a miss.
Excuse me?
Could you take a right here, please?
Yeah. Thank you.
Thanks.
We going down there, Dan?
Yeah. Yeah, we're just
going to take a peek.
Is that OK? Yeah.
All right, come on.
What if it is your dad?
I Honestly, er
I don't know.
Whoa, hang on.
Hang on, Trist.
Two secs.
Is that him?
Erm
I I don't know.
We could see him from over there.
Yeah, no, I-I don't want him
to know that we're here.
Hm.
What about up there?
Er
Yeah.
Yeah, come on.
OK
Erm OK.
Tristan, wait here for me.
Just wait in here.
Erm I'm going to quickly
jump on here, all right?
Yeah, I'll be quick.
OK, you wait there.
Mm-hm. OK.
Do you want me to come up?
Shall I come up?
Dan!
No, Tri No, Tris Tristan
Argh! Tristan!
Do you understand what happens
when you bring a child
with a broken arm into A&E at night?
I have Social Services on me now!
I'm on their fucking files!
I am so, so sorry.
What?
You're fucking sorry?
I shouldn't have been there.
I got a call from my uncle.
He said that my dad
worked in that loading bay.
You took my son there because
you wanted to see your dad?
No, I I-I didn't
want to see him, I just
I just
I wanted to know where he was.
But it wasn't him anyway.
What the fuck has any of that
got to do with my son, Dan?
He broke his arm.
I've had him for 11 years,
not so much as a fucking sprain.
You have him for ten minutes
I'm so, so sorry.
Stop saying you're fucking sorry!
I mean, I can't believe
I left him with you.
I mean, I let you meet
and I never do that.
I mean, what kind of mother am I?
You're a gr You're a great mum.
I'm on their fucking files, Dan!
Erm
Look, can I go in and see Tristan?
No.
No, you can't.
You cannot see my son ever again.
So just go.
Thanks for picking me up.
No problem.
I mean, it's only 1:30
on a Sunday morning
and I've got a four-month-old -
it's not like I need
fucking sleep or anything.
Jesus, Lee.
Well, look at the state of ya!
What?
You're out of control, mate.
No, I'm not.
You're riddled with compulsive
behaviour, you endangered the
life of a child, you just shat all
over a decent woman who trusts ya,
you're spending half
your life in prison.
I mean, who does that remind you of?
Oh, fuck off, Lee.
What are you doing in prison, Dan?
Why are you doing all this?
Cos you're spinning out.
Yeah, what about you?
Me? Yeah.
You're snapping at Laura,
you're not going to meetings,
you're not taking care of yourself,
won't let me help you.
How could you help me?
I offered to look after Dean.
Well, you'd be the perfect
baby-sitter, wouldn't ya?
Just saying, OK?
I offered, all right?
You need to take care of yourself
and if you need space from Dean
IT'S NOT DEAN!
IT'S YOU!
I told you!
I said, it's not just your life!
It's mine, it's Mum's as well.
You're searching for that man!
You're digging up the past, you're
bringing him back into our lives.
It It's like you're dragging
a fucking corpse into a living room!
I can't have it, Dan.
That man
I can't.
I've got a son now.
I can't have him back. I can't.
Well, I don't want him back.
I'm not trying to bring him back.
I'm not searching for him
So what was tonight, then?
I just wanted to know where he was.
Do you really believe that?
Oh, fuck this. I need to go to bed.
Look, Lee, Lee Oh, by the
way, don't ever fucking call me
at this hour again unless
it's an actual emergency
cos Laura ain't going to
get to sleep for hours now,
and fuck knows when
Dean's going to go down.
I mean, what's wrong with
a fucking night bus?
I wanted to see my brother.
Well, look at a fucking picture.
That's if you can find one amongst
the shots of your fucking cooker.
FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!
Fuck!
Jesus fucking Christ!
Fuck
This is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Hey, Roman.
It's Daddy speaking.
I'm going to read you a story
called The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
"In
"In the light of the moon,
a little egg lay on a leaf.
"One Sunday morning, the warm sun
"..came up, and pop - out of the egg
"came a tiny and very
hungry caterpillar.
"On Monday, he ate
through one apple.
"But he was still hungry.
"On Tuesday, he ate
through two pears.
"But he was still hungry."
No, I know.
"On Wednesday, he ate three plums."
I don't bloody understand it either.
"But he was still hungry.
"On Thursday, he ate through
one slice of salami"
And, er, how are you finding
it with looking after Tristan
whilst you're at work?
Yeah.
"..and one slice of watermelon.
"That night, he had a stomach ache!
"He built a small house,
called a cocoon, around himself.
"He stayed inside for
more than two weeks.
"Then he nibbled
a hole in the cocoon,
"pushed his way out and
"..he was a beautiful butterfly."
And that's the end.
Daddy loves you very much, Roman.
You sleep well now, OK?
HE SNIFFS
Was that all right?
Yeah.
Yeah, that was all right.