Channel 4 to explore the UK’s homelessness epidemic with ex-soldier Ed Stafford

30 January 2019

Channel 4 today announces they are spending 60 Days on the Streets with ex-soldier and adventurer Ed Stafford.

The 3 x 60’ series, a Boundless and Motion Content Group production, will see self-shooting ex-soldier Ed Stafford spend 60 winter days and nights on the streets with no money, no food and no shelter to get a first-hand view of Britain’s growing homeless crisis. Ed served his country as an Army captain and homelessness is an issue close to his heart given that around 13,000 ex-military personnel are homeless.  

Now Ed’s putting himself on the streets through the harsh British winter and filming his experiences. Risking his physical and mental health, Ed will live alongside the homeless to capture the reality of their day-to-day existence. At the age of 43, Ed is at the upper limit of the life expectancy of rough sleepers.

60 Days on the Streets will endeavour to show the human face of homelessness across London, Manchester and Glasgow, telling the stories of those on the streets, how they ended up there and how they survive at a time of increasing crisis. The number of rough sleepers in the UK has more than doubled since 2010, with a seven-fold increase in Manchester. In central London numbers have rocketed by 647% in just one year.

Alf Lawrie, Head of Factual Entertainment at Channel 4 said, “None of us can fail to notice the growing numbers of people living on the streets across the country but what we don’t know is what life is truly like for them. By immersing Ed in this world, this series will provide a raw, honest and at times deeply shocking portrait of this marginalised community.”    

Neil Smith, MD of Boundless said: “This is a hugely important project for us, which uses a Fact Ent device to shine a light on a chronic problem that we see every day but still know very little about.”

Melanie Darlaston, Executive Producer for Motion said: “Most of us pass homeless people on a daily basis but how often do we stop and question who they really are and how they came to be living on the streets? Ed’s immersive experience will help shine a light on the complex issue and give the homeless a voice.”.

Ed Stafford said: ‘'Homelessness today has reached new levels of concern, with more people sleeping rough than any point since World War II. As a country we have reached a stage where the statistics are so high that we are cutting ourselves off emotionally from what is truly going on around us. It is time for something to change, I’m ready to meet this issue face to face and not turn a blind eye.”

60 Days on the Streets is a 3 x 60’ part series produced by Boundless (part of Fremantle in the UK) and Motion Content Group. It was commissioned by Alf Lawrie, Head of Factual Entertainment at Channel 4 and Ian Dunkley, Commissioning Editor for Factual Entertainment at Channel 4. The Executive Producer for Boundless are Rod Williams and Ben Mitchell and the Executive Producer for Motion Content Group is Melanie Darlaston.

 

ENDS

 

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Stat Sources

Crisis - https://www.crisis.org.uk

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-housing-communities-and-local-government

 

Boundless (part of FremantleMedia UK)

Boundless is the factual entertainment label of Fremantle in the UK. Boundless has established a reputation of producing innovative, creative and thought-provoking content with a heart.  It produces long-running, award-winning, much-loved programmes.

 

Currently on air and in production:

Great Australian Railway Journeys (BBC Two), Great British Railway Journeys (BBC Two), Great Canadian Railway Journeys (BBC Two), Escape to the Country (BBC One), The Apprentice (BBC One), The Apprentice: You’re Fired (BBC Two), Grand Designs (Channel 4), My Grand Design w/t (Channel 4), Grand Designs: House of the Year (Channel 4).

www.boundlessproductions.tv

 

About Motion Content Group

 

Motion Content Group is a global content investment and rights management company. It invests and partners with the world’s leading talent, producers and distributors to fund, develop, produce and distribute premium content. Motion supports editorially and commercially vibrant networks and platforms by helping meet the ever-increasing demand for premium content, for the benefit of advertisers and its content partners. Headquartered in London and Los Angeles, Motion currently operates in 26 countries worldwide and has a broad range of award-winning programming distributed globally.

 

Motion’s content investments include global hit and record-breaking format LOVE ISLAND (ITV Studios/Motion) produced in 11 countries with 2019 seeing the series launch on CBS in the US; Channel 4’s ground-breaking social media reality series THE CIRCLE (Studio Lambert/Motion) with international versions in production for Netflix; Sky originals family game show WILD THINGS with local productions including Russia, China and Argentina, and currently in production for RTL2 in Germany; long running series BEN FOGLE: NEW LIVES IN THE WILD (Renegade/Motion) and Indian talk show NO. 1 YAARI, now produced in five languages. Motion has also licensed global hit formats including MASTERCHEF SINGAPORE (Endemol Shine International) and THAILAND’S GOT TALENT (Fremantle). Motion Content Group is part of GroupM, the world’s leading full-service media investment management operation, a WPP company.