Jerome’s tragic tale
A new drama tells the true story of a young man’s battle with bailiffs
After searching for a job for months, Jerome Rogers was bursting with pride when he found work as a courier and hoped it was the start of his life as an independent adult.
Yet while driving around London on his motorbike, the 20-yearold zero-hour worker received two £65 traffic fines that set off a tragic chain of events, as this one-off drama based on a real-life story shows.
Ashamed
Jerome was unable to pay the fines due to his low wages and as the non-payment penalties racked up, his debt soared to more than £1,000, leaving him consumed with worry.
Too ashamed to go to his parents for help, Jerome struggled to cover his arrears until one day a bailiff placed a lock on his motorbike. Unable to work and fearing what his family would say, that evening he walked out of his house in south London and took his own life.
Brave
With Chance Perdomo playing Jerome, Call the
Midwife’s Leonie Elliott as his sister Hollie, and
Line of Duty star Craig Parkinson as the bailiff, this powerful drama recounts the young man’s final months.
‘Jerome’s family were involved in making the film,’ says director Joe Bullman. ‘They wanted to address the difficulties zerohour workers face and how some bailiffs operate. It was brave of them to allow Jerome’s story to be told.’