Last Summer here at the Tower Hamlets Film Office, managed by Film Office, we welcomed BBC Three ‘Grime Kids’ to the borough with a whopping 35 bookings at council locations across Tower Hamlets and 20 across Private Locations in the borough too. Grime Kids is an original drama inspired by the book of the same name by DJ Target which explores the emergence of grime music from a subculture in the East End to an international phenomenon. Set in 2001 at the start of summer, Grime Kids follows the five friends Dane, Junior, Kai, Bishop and Bayo, known as the “Gladiator Crew” the story explores themes of community, family, young love, aspirations, and most fundamentally, friendship. Speaking about the setting of the series, creator Theresa Ikoko says “It’s a real privilege to showcase the communities of east London in my writing. I’ve had the pleasure of calling east London home for most of my life. I hope the love I have for this special part of the world shines through in this show.”
Grime Kids had a large presence across the borough in 2022 and the series really showcases all Tower Hamlets has to offer from iconic streets such as Roman Road and estates including the Approach Estate in Bow and the Manchester Road Estate on the Isle of Dogs. Shoots cropped up all other the borough at number of other locations that you can keep your eyes peeled for such as St John’s Park, St John’s Community Centre and Mudchute Park & Farm all on the Isle of Dogs.
As part of one of the Grime Kids sets, the production recreated the iconic ‘Rhythm Division’, a bright blue record shop which used to be situated on Roman Road and was a local hub for Grime music back in the day. The production recreated this iconic location along Roman Road, in a vacant shop front which is often used for productions to dress however they’d like. Rhythm Division was more than a shop, it was a grime scene cultural hub – where all the major players of grime passed through. It became a spiritual home for Grime, a base for MCs, DJs, producers and filmmakers to hone their craft.
On Saturday 30th July 2022 the production opened to set to the public for an Open Day, using the space to have food and drink, and create a pop up record shop encouraging the community to pop in and out of the event. Tower Hamlets musician including DJ Target and Ghetts as well as youth workers and leaders attended the event to signpost young people and introduce them to the community project with an aim to encourage people from the community who remember the shop to come in and reminisce, whilst also giving an opportunity to the young people today who were unable to experience Rhythm Division.
Grime Kids worked in partnership with ‘We Are Spotlight’ – a youth organisation in Tower Hamlets to give their young people a first hand experience into the Film and TV industry. They created a year long initiative in during which participants were given the opportunity to visit the set of Grime Kids and various other BBC/ ITV sets, as well as producing an EPK which is an integral skill used in the industry. Offering transferable skills in media, public speaking, IT, creative writing and storytelling.
When working with productions such as Grime Kids who’s filming dominates the borough, we always look to give back to the local community and make location filming a mutually beneficial situation for both the council and the nearby residents and businesses. This includes closely liaising with the residents and business to ensure minimal impact and open communication. We also obtain donations for local Resident’s Associations which they use for things such as designing, promoting and hosting social activities, and undertaking projects that build on community and ensure the needs of all residents are proportionally considered.
‘Grime Kids’ is available to stream all episodes on BBC iPlayer now and you can check out the trailer below where you can spot rather a lot of Tower Hamlets locations!
