Desperados

Desperados is a CBBC children’s drama series following a wheelchair basketball team, created and written by Paul Smith in 2007. It charts the journey of former footballer Charlie who, following a disabling accident on the pitch caused by his friend and team-mate Aidan, finds new meaning and purpose in his life when he joins a team called the Desperados.

Team coach Baggy Awolowo is searching for new players for a junior wheelchair basketball team. He says “You might think this is a basketball team. You’re wrong, it’s a way of life.” Baggy later invites Aidan to joins the Desperados as their only able-bodied player, having been impressed by Aidan’s shooting a perfect basket in the gym one day after practice.

There is plenty of drama off the basketball court as well as on it – involving such things as the players’ different and sometimes turbulent home lives; Charlie patching up his friendship with Aidan; the players raising money by going street collecting, as well as demonstrating their basketball skills, in order to raise money to keep their team mini-bus on the road so they can continue to travel to away venues and avoid being dropped from the league; and prejudice against disabled people, as is shown when Vicky and Gabby encounter an abusive drunk man at the hotel where the team are staying on the night of an important league away match. The team also have to cope with the sudden and unexpected tragedy of losing their team-mate and captain Adam, who was in hospital having a heart-valve operation and failed to pull through.