Rewind: An author, his cellmate, and a new beginning

How a book-loving prisoner showed a young Alex Wheatle the path to self-belief.

Alex had been born in London to Jamaican parents, but grew up in care in the notorious Shirley Oaks children’s home. As a teenager, he was convicted of assaulting a police officer during the Brixton Riots. He felt totally alone and without hope. But as the door slammed on Alex’s prison cell, he met a book-loving man called Simeon who opened his eyes to the importance of his own history – and encouraged him to use his past to write a new and hopeful future. This was originally broadcast in December 2023.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Hetal Bapodra and Anna Lacey

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