“I grew up with the Charlie Says public information films on TV in the 70s and 80s warning against everything from playing with matches to talking to strangers.
So when I saw this volunteering project advertised internally I thought it would be a fun experience making a more modern version.
The film was based on a piece that Dramatic Action was touring around Bolton schools to highlight stranger danger.
They couldn’t keep up with demand so came to the BBC with the idea of making a film we have called Billy Bolton.
Dramatic Action is an adult community group from the local housing estate and some of the cast are in the film and helped in the making behind the scenes.
The children brought in to act roles in the film came from local schools.
The story covers online and real world stranger danger and stops at various places to allow classroom discussion. We ramped up the danger a bit for the film - I wouldn’t want anyone to think there is a stranger lurking on every corner in Bolton!
I’ve been with BBC Children’s for eight years now as both producer and director working on mainly factual programmes. I love working with children and drama is my real passion. None of the people in the film had any screen acting experience and they loved seeing how it was all put together. A few of them helped out as crew swinging the boom mic etc. The film took two days to shoot and around two days to edit.
It was also interesting getting to know Bolton a bit better. I studied drama up here 20 years ago and moved north with my family three years ago. In London I knew lots of filming locations but not so much in the North West so this has been really useful for me. I would recommend volunteering to anyone. It gave me a chance to make more drama, I loved meeting the kids and I found out a lot more about Bolton and the people who live in the area.”
*BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility connects the BBC directly with its audiences, particularly those identified as harder to reach. Bolton At Home a registered charity providing social housing applied to the department’s Community Doorway programme, which gives BBC staff an opportunity to work with various charities and community groups.
Applications are particularly welcome from organisations based in the neighbourhoods where a large number of our staff work - namely Salford, Greater Manchester and the two London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster - and those that work with 16-24 year olds and/or groups that are considered to be disadvantaged or socially excluded.
