To air on the anniversary of wartime tragedy

Radio 4 is to air a drama based on a factual book comedian Stefano Paolini wrote about the Italian civilians held in British internment camps during the Second World War.

He wrote the volume, Missing Presumed Drowned, more than a decade ago – inspiring writer Nicholas McInerny to create a 45-minute audio drama.

It also incorporates recordings of interviews Paolini conducted with internees and their families during his research for the book.

The book and the play revolve around the SS Arandora Star, a former liner used to deport interned civilians as well as a small number of legitimate prisoners of war from the UK to Canada. On July 2, 1940, she was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland with the loss of more than 800 lives, including 446 Italians.

The drama, also called Missing Presumed Drowned, will air on the 86th anniversary of that tragedy.

It follows the story of an Italian family living in London. As the father is arrested, the son - born in the UK - becomes part of the battalion responsible for enforcing his internment. Their journey continues aboard the Arandora Star.

British-Italian comic Paolini wrote on social media: ‘I’m absolutely delighted that my book has inspired a Radio 4 drama. I originally published the book in 2015, and last year I happened to give a copy to the right person.That moment set off a chain of events that has led to this announcement. It still feels unreal, but Radio 4 has published a page about the play so it must be happening.’

He told Chortle he became interested in the subject while researching his 2005 Edinburgh comedy show Britalian, explaining: ‘I wanted to hear the experiences of other British-Italians and try to find some humour in their stories, but within the older Italians who were alive at the time of the war I discovered a tragedy that had gained very little attention. 

‘After 10 years of research, I self-published the book in 2015. It was a long process because the story wasn’t well known or researched, and it was very much like putting a puzzle together where many of the pieces were hidden or missing and I didn’t quite know what the overall picture looked like. 

‘I’m so pleased that the story will get a wider audience, not least because the little girl, pictured with her dad on the front cover of my book is called Graziella Feraboli. She was 14 years old when her father was taken away and subsequently was reported "missing presumed drowned" when the Arandora Star was torpedoed. She is 101 years old and will hear her story and voice on the July 2, the date of the sinking of the Arandora Star.’

Winston Churchill gave the order for Italian men across the UK to be arrested and detained with out charge or trial on June 10, 1940, after Mussolini’s Italy joined the war. As was common at the time, the wives and mothers of these men received no communication about their fate - only the devastating notification after the Arandora Star had been torpedoed that their loved ones were ‘missing, presumed drowned’.

The BBC says of the play: ‘A key theme explores the complexities of being born in Britain to immigrant parents - the tension between assimilation and cultural identity, and the generational mistrust that can arise from differing relationships to heritage. Ultimately, this is an immigrant’s story asking the enduring question, how English can one ever truly be?’

Italy is establishing a National Day of Remembrance on October 11 to honour the Italian victims of the Arandora Star tragedy.  The date marks the anniversary of the death in 2013 of Rando Bertoia, a Glasgow shopkeeper who was the last surviving Italian from the tragedy.

Missing Presumed Drowned, which is made by Brighton-based Pier Production and stars Vincenzo Nicoli, Enzo Benvenuti and  Eugenia Caruso, will air on Radio 4 at 2.15pm on July 2.

The book is available from Amazon.

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Published: 17 Jun 2026