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.

[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.

[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".