大象传媒

On New Year's Day restrictions on people coming from Romania and Bulgaria to the UK will be lifted to comply with the European Union's rules on freedom of movement. Amongst them are expected to be members of the large Roma communities in those countries. They belong to possibly the most marginalised group in Europe - the Gypsies.

The new arrivals are distantly related to English Romani Gypsies, but they are divided by 500 years of history. English Gypsies have adapted their own culture, never more so than in the last thirty years when most have given up the nomadic way of life which once defined them.

So will the reuniting of parts of this ancient diaspora emphasise a common culture or highlight its divergence? Elinor Goodman looks at how the arrival of the Roma is challenging the already complex identity of England's Gypsies.

Producer: Adam Bowen.