The drama-documentary series that tells the gripping real-life stories of travellers detained overseas returns for a new run. The first episode recounts the dramatic tale of Scott White, a young man whose party lifestyle in Kuwait of the late 1980s resulted in him being arrested for drug dealing. Sentenced to five years in jail, Scott’s eventual salvation arrived in the unlikely form of Saddam Hussein, whose invasion of Kuwait offered him the chance to make a daring escape.

In the late 1980s, Scott White was living in Kuwait City with his father, a wealthy doctor. Nineteenyear- old Scott was enjoying the best party lifestyle his father’s money could buy. He was part of a group of privileged ex-pats who ignored the Muslim laws of the land by installing bars in their bedrooms and brewing their own booze. Scott had a particular penchant for hashish, which his friend, Ali, would score for him from the Bedouin tribesmen out in the desert.

Scott seemingly had it all – a fast car, a gorgeous girlfriend and a great life. Then, one day, a new lad tried to become part of their scene. Talal was a Kuwaiti teenager, a ‘friend of a friend’, who nobody particularly liked as he used to flirt with their girlfriends. He wanted Scott to get him some hashish. Scott initially resisted, but Talal was so persistent that he gave in to get him off his back. It was to be the biggest mistake of Scott’s life.

Scott ordered 250g of the finest hashish from their Bedouin Arab supplier – the biggest chunk of hashish he had ever seen. It may have been his first ever deal, but Scott decided to try and make some extra cash by heating it up, flattening it out and cutting it in half. He slipped one half into the knickers drawer of his friend, Jenny, and with his partner in crime, ‘Slick Nick’, slipped away from one of their parties to pass the goods on to Talal.

The drop was nerve-wracking and Scott realised that the life of a drug dealer was maybe not for him. He was relieved to be back at the party – but that relief was short-lived. Talal appeared at the flat, followed by a squad of armed policemen who smashed down the door and arrested Scott and his friends. It was a moment that changed Scott’s life forever.

Scott and his pals were taken to a Kuwaiti police station where they were held for ten days. During that time Scott’s friend, Ali, was tortured until he revealed the identity of the Bedouin Arab, who was then brought in and also tortured. Scott was only spared the punishment because the police already had their man, and because he was British. Instead, they told him he could serve up to 25 years in prison.

Scott confessed to everything and was visited in jail by Talal, who had told him that he was forced to point the finger at him because he had been caught smoking. To this day, Scott does not know if this was the truth or if Talal was a police informer.

With his friends released, Scott was taken to Kuwait Central Prison to begin his sentence. While in jail, Scott was officially sentenced to five years but without the prospect of parole or time off for good behaviour. In his first year, he suffered a breakdown after his girlfriend, Lisa, ended their relationship. Fortunately for Scott, things took a dramatic turn for the better during his second year of incarceration – when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

During the confusion, Scott and his fellow cellmates were able to escape through a hole in the wall of the prison. After trekking through the desert he was picked up by a Sudanese family and made it through the Iraqi checkpoints. Reunited with his father in Kuwait City, the two of them fled through Saudi Arabia and made it back to the UK.

Nearly 20 years later, Scott runs his own business outside of London. He has two children and is married... to his former girlfriend, Lisa.