New Docu Series Announced For Channel 4

Channel 4 has commissioned a new five-year longitudinal documentary series. The project will follow teenagers from across Britain from low-income families as they attempt to follow their dreams and fight to overcome the inequality facing them.

Currently titled 'Youth', the commission follows a recent government report which said that Britain has among the worst social mobility of any developed nation. For example, the richest 20% are seven times more likely to get into a top university, while 50% of children from the poorest families get zero GCSE passes above a D grade.

Channel 4's Deputy Head of Factual Amy Flanagan has commissioned Minnow Films to make the series. The contributors will be teenagers from across Britain, aged approximately between 13 and 16. The first episodes are planned to air in 2022.

Amy Flanagan said: "The Brexit vote revealed how deeply divided Britain has become – throwing the gulf between the 'haves and the 'have nots' into stark relief. We want to explore the barriers young aspirational people from disadvantaged backgrounds face and prevent them achieving their dreams and the levers that can push them up or down the social ladder. We'll follow these teenagers at the pivotal points in their lives over the next half decade and weave in the multiple perspectives of the key people in their lives – their parents, carers, siblings, teachers or employers. Only by observing these young people over a long period of time will we be able to see the forces working against them in modern Britain and the strength of will needed to triumph."

Colin Barr, Executive Producer, said: "We're not just interested in young people who are academically bright, we are interested in raw ability in all its forms and how we all lose out when that potential is lost or thwarted. Through witnessing the key turning points in young people's lives – those moment where futures are written and re-written – we will create a profoundly dramatic picture of how social mobility and inequality really works in the UK."

www.channel4.com

(JP/MH)