The Mighty Redcar | |
---|---|
Genre | Documentary |
Directed by | Dan Dewsbury Stuart Bernard Jonny Ashton |
Narrated by | Madison Cooper |
Opening theme | Friday Afternoons ("Cuckoo") |
Composer | Mat Davidson |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Executive producer | John Douglas |
Production location | Redcar |
Editors | Samuel Sananta Sam Bergson Reva Childs |
Camera setup | Dan Dewsbury |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Production company | 72 Films |
Release | |
Original network | BBC Two |
Original release | 6 September – 27 September 2018 |
The Mighty Redcar is a 2018 British documentary series first aired on BBC Two. Marketed by the BBC as a "real-life soap opera", the four part series focuses on young people from the town of Redcar and nearby Grangetown, an area with high unemployment following the 2015 closure of SSI Redcar steelworks. The show was praised for its portrayal of the area and for avoiding the "poverty porn" stereotypes associated with similar documentaries.
Like many former industrial areas in the United Kingdom, Redcar – formerly a popular seaside resort and a centre for steel and chemical production – has seen a downturn in its fortunes following deindustrialisation and now suffers from deprivation. Following the closure of the steelworks in 2015, which was a significant employer in the town, Redcar attracted a number of news crews and documentary makers, including a 50-day series of reportage from Panorama . The tone of the Panorama documentary and other reports was negative and pessimistic, and the BBC wanted a more "optimistic" documentary to balance it and to "shine a light on the under-represented North East of England". They commissioned filmmaker Dan Dewsbury to produce a series about life in the town, focusing on the next generation. [1] [2]
Filming began in November 2016, with Dewsbury and the crew moving to Redcar in February 2017 and living for nine months in the town above a fish and chips shop. Half of the crew was local – the drone photography was by a former Redcar steelworker Lee Bullock and Madison Cooper, a 17-year-old student, provides the voiceover. [1] [2]
The documentary makers interviewed around 400 people for the series. After facing initial reluctance from locals, who worried that the show would depict locals in a negative manner similar to Benefits Street , the second series of which was filmed in nearby Stockton-on-Tees, the crew were able to persuade them that it would "not insult" the Redcar residents. [1] [3]
No. | Title | Air date | |
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1 | "Episode 1" | 6 September 2018 | |
The first episode introduces James, Dylan and Kaitlyn. James, who has no GCSEs and whose father is in prison, is mentored by a local businessman who finds him work as a landscaper. Dylan, an aspiring hip hop musician, tries to get a record deal. Kaitlyn wants to go into acting, and as the school prom approaches her mother Kat is working three jobs to pay for her to attend RADA drama school. [4] | |||
2 | "Episode 2" | 13 September 2018 | |
James is arrested on suspicion of theft, but denies the allegation. With his mentor's help, he gets an apprenticeship at a call centre. With money tight, Kat and Kaitlyn find themselves having to move house yet again, but Kaitlyn triumphs in her GCSEs. Netball player Safy wins a 90% scholarship at a private sports college, but her mother finds paying the remaining 10% a struggle. A witness comes forward, and James admits to the theft – he is sentenced to community service and loses his apprenticeship. [5] | |||
3 | "Episode 3" | 20 September 2018 | |
The town has come together to raise money for Safy’s school fees but is it enough? Bean must choose between his first love and the chance of a new life away from Redcar, and James gets one final chance to change his life around. | |||
4 | "Episode 4" | 27 September 2018 | |
Boris Johnson-loving activist Jade is battling to win the hearts and minds of the predominantly Labour town. Amber, living out of her car, struggles to keep her job as nurse, and 16-year-old Billy realises that working for a living might not be for him. |
The Mighty Redcar was well received by critics. [6] [7] Several praised its depiction of the people of Redcar, with Chitra Ramaswamy of The Guardian calling it "the antidote to Benefits Street, Born Famous or any of the other vile caricatures that make up the objectionable genre of poverty porn", [8] Carol Midgley of The Times saying it "could have been dreadful and patronising, but it was rather wonderful", [9] and the reviewer for The Northern Echo noting "it was warm, moving and a refreshing change to see such an honest, but uplifting depiction of life for young people in the North-East". [10]
Local people were also generally positive about the series, although several Redcar residents criticised the decision to film much of the show in Grangetown; although part of the Redcar and Cleveland district, it is separate from the town and lies closer to Middlesbrough. [6] [10] [11]
The programme won the Royal Television Society Award for ‘Best Factual Programme’ 2019 and was nominated for a BAFTA in the Television Awards for 'Best Cinematography'. It was nominated for'Best Original Programme' at the 2019 Broadcast Awards.
The camera team won the Guild of Television and Film Award for 'Best Cinematography' 2019.
In late 2019 the camera team won the award for ‘Best Factual Cinematography’ at the Royal Television Society Craft Awards beating competition which included David Attenborough’s ‘Dynasties’ series.
The River Tees, in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for 85 miles (137 km) to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has been tied with the industries on Teesside in its lower reaches, where it has provided the means of import and export of goods to and from the North East England. The need for water further downstream also meant that reservoirs were built in the extreme upper reaches, such as Cow Green.
Eston is an industrial town in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. The ward covering the area had a population of 7,005 at the 2011 census. It is part of Greater Eston, which includes the outlying settlements of Grangetown, Normanby, South Bank, Teesville and part of Ormesby.
Middlesbrough is a town in the Middlesbrough unitary authority borough of North Yorkshire, England. The town is in Teesdale, near the North York Moors National Park. With a population of 148,215, it was classed as large town to smaller city at the 2021 UK census. It is the largest town of the wider Teesside area, which had a population of 376,633 in 2011.
Redcar and Cleveland is a unitary authority area with borough status in North Yorkshire, England.
Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located 7 miles (11 km) east of Middlesbrough.
The Tees Valley is a combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley; the local term for the valley is Teesdale. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.
Teesville is an area in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. A ward covering the area had a population of 6,517 at the 2011 census. It is part of Greater Eston, which includes the area and the settlements of Eston, Normanby, South Bank, Teesville and part of Ormesby.
South Bank is an industrial town in the Redcar and Cleveland borough in North Yorkshire, England on the south bank of the River Tees. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Middlesbrough and 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Redcar. The town is served by South Bank railway station.
Redcar British Steel is a "mothballed" railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 5+3⁄4 miles (9 km) east of Middlesbrough, served the Teesside Steelworks, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. At the time of the station's closure, it was owned by Network Rail and managed by Arriva Rail North.
Grangetown is an area in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. The area is 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Middlesbrough and 4 miles (6.4 km) from south-west of Redcar.
A Century in Stone is a 2004 documentary film by Craig Hornby. It tells the story of how the discovery of ironstone at Eston in 1850 sparked the transformation of Teesside from rural backwater to iron-making capital of the world.
The Teesside Steelworks was a large steelworks that formed a continuous stretch along the south bank of the River Tees from the towns of Middlesbrough to Redcar in North Yorkshire, England. At its height there were 91 blast furnaces within a 10-mile radius of the area. By the end of the 1970s there was only one left on Teesside. Opened in 1979 and located near the mouth of the River Tees, the Redcar blast furnace was the second largest in Europe.
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. Until 1 April 1996 it was a non-metropolitan district in Cleveland, called Langbaurgh.
South Gare is an area of reclaimed land and breakwater on the southern side of the mouth of the River Tees in Redcar and Cleveland, England. It is accessed by taking the South Gare Road from Fisherman's Crossing at the western end of Tod Point Road in Warrenby.
Anna Catherine Turley is a British former politician. She was the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 2015 until 2019. Turley was chair of the Co-operative Party from 8 June 2019 until December 2019. She currently serves as chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC).
Ben Houchen, Baron Houchen of High Leven, is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Tees Valley Mayor in May 2017 after winning the 2017 mayoral election, defeating Labour candidate Sue Jeffrey by 2.2 per cent in the second round. He was re-elected in 2021, defeating the Labour candidate, Jessie Joe Jacobs.
Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT), also known as Redcar Ore Terminal, is a privately run dock at the mouth of the Tees Estuary in North Yorkshire, England. The port is used for the transhipment of coal and coke and for many years was the import dock for iron ore destined for Redcar Steelworks under British Steel Corporation, British Steel plc, Corus, Tata Steel Europe and Sahaviriya Steel Industries.
Jacob Young is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Assistant Government Whip since September 2022. He was elected as the member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar at the 2019 general election. He is the first Conservative MP to represent the constituency.
Zetland FM is a community radio station broadcasting from Redcar and covering the Redcar and Cleveland district in North East England. Its studios are located within the Redcar Beacon on the town's seafront.
Dylan Cartlidge is a rapper and multi-instrumentalist. His music incorporates elements of funk, soul, hip hop, gospel rock, and R&B. He is known for his hopeful narratives. He was featured in the first episode of BBC documentary The Mighty Redcar, where he was seeking a record deal. He signed to Glassnote Records in 2018.