Street kids to be stars
NEW Channel 4 school drama Ackley Ridge is set to make stars of kids recruited from the street.
Producers demanded authenticity for the series set in a Yorkshire mill town where Asian and white pupils mix for the first time.
So instead of ringing talent agencies, they called boxing clubs and schools to recruit actors in Halifax.
Director Penny Woolcock signed up a girl she saw who had just been excluded from school.
“She was on the phone complaining how unfair it was and I thought, ‘ Oh, you’re really interesting’,” said Ms Woolcock.
The show stars Casualty’s Sunetra Sarker, who was once s t r eet- cast f or Brookside. “It’s fitting I’m helping potential actors come through,” she said.
The drama starts at 8pm on Wednesday June 7.