My Critique of The Paradise Club
The Paradise Club distinguishes itself through the compelling, uneasy dynamic between Don Henderson’s principled ex-priest and Leslie Grantham’s volatile gangster, grounding its gangland narrative in genuine moral friction. Its blend of police procedural and corrupt-state thriller is elevated by authentic late-80s London locations, yet the series is constrained by occasional tonal inconsistency and a notorious script reliance on controversial racial stereotyping.
While contemporaries like The Bill offered straightforward procedural integrity, this show dared to interrogate institutional cynicism, positioning law enforcement as morally ambiguous antagonists rather than simple guardians. For the modern viewer, its value lies in this bracingly grey ethical landscape and its tangible sense of place, making its continued unavailability a genuine loss to the era’s television record.
Principal Characters & Performances
Frank Kane (Don Henderson)
Don Henderson brought a monumental, weary gravitas to Frank Kane, the series’ moral anchor. Frank is an ex-priest, “unfrocked” due to a financial scandal, who returns to his South London roots after his mother’s death.
He finds himself the co-inheritor of the Paradise Club, a nightclub front for the criminal empire built by his family. Henderson’s performance is the show’ core tension, his physical presence and deep voice conveying a man constantly wrestling with his past.
Frank is no naive idealist; his faith is battered but not broken, and his love for his brother Danny forces him into a world he despises. Henderson masterfully portrays a man using his clerical skills of mediation and understanding to navigate gangland disputes, often serving as Danny’s conscience.
His struggle is the show’s ethical engine, a constant question of whether one can engage with evil to mitigate its effects without being consumed by it.
Danny Kane (Leslie Grantham)
Leslie Grantham, then famous as “Dirty Den” from *EastEnders*, delivered a very different kind of villain as Danny Kane. Danny is the entrenched gangster brother, running the Paradise Club and their mother’s “manor” with a volatile mix of charm and brutality.
Grantham plays him as a man utterly at home in the underworld, yet possessing a fierce, unshakeable loyalty to his family, especially Frank. This loyalty is his primary redeeming feature and his greatest vulnerability.
Danny is quick-tempered, shrewd, and often out of his depth against more sophisticated foes, be they rival gangsters or state manipulators. Grantham’s chemistry with Don Henderson is the series’ bedrock.
Their scenes together, fraught with history and conflicting worldviews, transform what could be a standard crime plot into a compelling family drama about two brothers bound by blood and a toxic inheritance.
Notable Support & Guest Stars
The world around the Kanes was populated by a strong ensemble. Peter Gowen’s Jonjo O’Brady, Danny’s fiercely loyal Irish bodyguard, provided both muscle and a dry wit.
Leon Herbert’s Polish Joe was a recurring, reliable associate in the club’s operations.
On the law enforcement side, Caroline Bliss as DI Sarah Turnbull and Frederick Warder as DCS Graham represented the often cynical and manipulative police interest in the Kanes’ activities.
The guest casting coup, however, was undeniably heavy metal icon Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, appearing with guitarist Janick Gers in the second series episode “Rock and Roll Roulette.”
His presence as a rock star drawn into the club’s dangerous orbit was a perfect fit for the show’s milieu and gave that episode a lasting cult cachet. It underscored the series’ commitment to a specific late-80s London atmosphere where crime and popular culture intersected.
Key Episodes & Defining Stories
Unfrocked in Babylon
The premiere episode is essential viewing for establishing the series’ entire foundation. It introduces Frank’s return and the brothers’ tense reunion at their mother’s funeral, immediately laying bare the conflict between Frank’s residual priesthood and Danny’s gangland life.
The feud with rival Peter Noonan kicks off the action, but the core of the episode is the transfer of the Paradise Club itself. This isn’t just a business handover; it’s the passing of a criminal legacy.
Directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, the episode efficiently sets up the show’s key locations and the persistent police surveillance led by detectives like DI Rosy Campbell. Fans remember it for the instant, electric chemistry between Henderson and Grantham, and for perfectly defining the show’s unique premise: a moral drama played out in the backrooms of a South London nightclub.
Sins of the Fathers (1 & 2)
This ambitious two-part story, directed by Richard Standeven, is where the series broadens its scope beyond local gang wars. It sees state security forces, specifically Special Branch, attempting to co-opt Danny Kane as a tool for a larger operation.
The plot brilliantly explores the show’s central theme of institutional compromise. The police are not pure antagonists here; they are cynical manipulators willing to foster criminality for their own ends.
DI Sarah Turnbull’s role becomes crucial as she blackmails Danny, forcing Frank into a desperate position to save his brother from both the criminals and the authorities. These episodes matter because they permanently alter the Kanes’ relationship with the law, framing them as pawns in a bigger, dirtier game and deepening Frank’s moral crisis.
Rock and Roll Roulette
This second-series episode is the show’s most famous cult entry, thanks almost entirely to the guest appearance of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson. The plot cleverly integrates his rock star persona into the Paradise Club’s world, involving a high-stakes scheme blending music business financing with underworld gambling.
Directed by Derek Banham, it exemplifies the series’ authentic use of London’s late-80s music scene as a backdrop for crime. While the gangland narrative remains tense, the episode is remembered for its unique atmosphere and the sheer novelty of seeing a heavy metal icon performing and acting within this gritty BBC drama.
It’s a perfect example of the show’s specific time and place, making the Paradise Club feel like a real nexus where entertainment and villainy could credibly meet.
The World of The Paradise Club
The Paradise Club built a very specific version of late-1980s London. This wasn’t the glamorous West End or the political corridors of power, but the gritty “manors” of South London, defined by territorial gangland culture.
The eponymous nightclub, inherited from the brothers’ mother Ma Kane, was the beating heart of this world.
It served as a legitimate front, a social hub, a counting house, and a negotiation room for criminal deals. Production used real locations like Camden Palace and streets around Hackney’s Broadway Market, giving the series an authentic, grounded feel.
The environment constantly juxtaposed the neon-lit, music-pumping interior of the club with drab police stations and the tense, often violent, spaces of the underworld. This world felt lived-in and operational, a fully realized ecosystem where family loyalty, profit, and survival were the only constants.
Origin Story
The Paradise Club was a BBC One crime drama produced by Zenith Entertainment. It was created by writer Murray Smith, who served as a principal writer alongside others including Russell Murray.
Selwyn Roberts was the producer, with Archie Tait as executive producer.
The series was directed by several hands, including Lawrence Gordon Clark, and cinematographer Alan Jones helped establish its look. Composer Dave Lawson provided the distinctive theme and score.
It was conceived as a contemporary gangland drama with a unique hook: the central conflict between two brothers, one a gangster, the other a former priest, forced to run their mother’s criminal empire.
Narrative Style & Tone
The show blended crime thriller plots with deep character drama, all grounded in its London locations. It mixed violent, suspenseful gangland confrontations with a surprising amount of humour, often stemming from the brothers’ banter or the absurdities of their situation.
The tone was primarily gritty and moralistic, driven by Frank’s perspective, but never dour. The police procedural element was always present, observing from the sidelines.
The use of contemporary rock and pop music on the soundtrack, alongside Lawson’s score, cemented its late-80s atmosphere. Episodes were largely self-contained stories that fed into the ongoing arc of the brothers’ strained relationship and their battle for survival.
How is The Paradise Club remembered?
The Paradise Club is remembered today as a well-made, underrated gem of its era with a dedicated cult following. Its lack of an official DVD release, partly due to music clearance issues, has heightened its status as a lost classic for fans of British crime drama.
Retrospective discussion often praises the powerful lead performances and their chemistry, as well as the authentic use of London locations.
The series is also noted in broader conversations about representation, as it attracted some criticism at the time for its stereotyping of ethnic minority characters. For most fans, however, its legacy is defined by its compelling central premise and the quality of its execution.
Episodes like “Rock and Roll Roulette” ensure it retains a niche curiosity status, while its core family drama continues to resonate with those who discover it.
In Closing
The Paradise Club stands as a distinctive entry in the canon of BBC crime drama, a show that fused family conflict with gangland grit and moral questioning, all set to a late-80s London beat.