<Li> Nitin Ganatra as Jalal's father . </Li> <Li> Karim Kassem as Abu Akram, an Egyptian jihadist </Li> <P> The series was green - lit in July 2016, following extensive research by Kosminsky . Most of the location filming was undertaken in Spain later that autumn . </P> <P> The first episode was watched live by 1.4 million viewers, which was described by Broadcast magazine as a "solid start". However, Channel 4 is unlikely to make money from the series: according to outgoing chief creative officer Jay Hunt, the channel needs to cross-subsidise such dramas with more populist programmes such as Great British Bake Off . The figure increased to 2.33 million taking into account catch - up viewing over the next seven days, and 2.49 million after a month . </P>

Where was channel 4's the state filmed