This is the press release from the local Labour members following the BBC3 show People Like Us.
Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Meriden, Tom McNeil, today called on Chelmsley Wood residents to tell the BBC that its new television series ‘ People Like Us’ paints a totally false picture of the community.
The programme which BBC3 has screened claims to be a documentary featuring the lives of some of the young people who live in north Solihull.
But, said Tom:
“The people in the TV show come across as nice people. For instance, the characters come across as loving and some seem very ambitious. However, almost everyone I spoke to in Chelmsley had seen the programme and thought it bore no resemblance to their community. They were very upset about the false impression it gives to people who do not know the area. The people I met were working hard to support themselves and their families, or in retirement after a lifetime of work and want viewers to know that the vast majorly of people in Chelmsley are just like that.”
In a joint statement Tom and Emma Chidler, Labour’s candidate in next year’s local government elections, urge people who are unhappy about the programme to tell the BBC how they feel.
They said:
“Everyone has helped pay for this series through their television licence fee and it’s only right that their views are taken into account. It would be fitting if the BBC made a fifth programme in the series which showed real life in Chelmsley Wood, rather than the fantasy world of so-called reality TV. ”
