Three Girls is a three-part Britishtelevision drama series, written by screenwriter Nicole Taylor, and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, that broadcast on three consecutive nights between 16 and 18 May 2017 on BBC One. A co-production between BBC Studios and Studio Lambert, the series is a dramatised version of the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and describes how the authorities failed to investigate allegations of rape because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses. The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims: fourteen-year-old Holly Winshaw, sixteen-year-old Amber Bowen and her younger sister Ruby ; although the focus later shifts to sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham, who became the main whistleblower who drew attention to the case after repeated pleas for help from social services and the police fell on deaf ears. DC Margaret Oliver, the lead investigator on the case, manages to gain the support of her superior officer, Sandy Guthrie to instigate a full-blown investigation. However, despite significant evidence, the CPS decided to drop the case because of an “unrealistic prospect of conviction”. After Margaret convinces Amber Bowen to testify against her former boyfriend, Tariq, the case is re-opened by recently appointed public prosecutorNazir Afzal, who with the assistance of the police and the victims involved, manages to secure convictions against ten men involved in the ring. Rowbotham, Oliver, and Afzal all acted as consultants on the series. Three Girls drew a strong viewing audience upon its first broadcast, with 8.24 million viewers for episode one, 7.88 million for episode two and 8.19 million for episode three. The series was released on DVD in Region 2 on 8 January 2018. A BBC documentary on the case, The Betrayed Girls, was broadcast on 3 July 2017 as a follow-up to the drama.
In June 2017, a terrorist attack was launched against mosque-goers in Finsbury Park. The attacker, Darren Osborne, used a van to run over Muslim pedestrians, killing one man and injuring several others. In the course of the trial, it was remarked that Osborne developed an obsession with Muslims after watching Three Girls.
