'Immigration Street' To Be Filmed In Southampton

11 July 2014, 15:12 | Updated: 11 July 2014, 15:16

A new TV documentary called Immigration Street is to be filmed on Derby Road in Southampton.

Channel 4’s Head of Documentaries Nick Mirsky has commissioned Love Productions to make a new documentary series which will capture life on a street in Southampton where the mix of residents has changed over time and continues to evolve as a result of immigration.

Cameras will follow the lives of some of the residents of Derby Road in the Bevois district of the city for the series which currently has the working title ‘Immigration Street.’

Channel Four says:

"It is an ethnically diverse street where the majority of residents were not born in the UK. The series will explore how the changing population is shaping the community, relationships, friendships and everyday life for those who call it home.

"Immigration is one of the most fiercely debated and divisive issues in Britain. Last month a major survey reported a hardening of views towards immigration with a quarter of British people believing the main reason immigrants come to the UK is to claim benefits.

"Meanwhile UKIP’s unprecedented success in the local and European elections has been largely credited to their tough stance on border control.

Nick Mirsky says:

“Immigration is clearly an emotive issue dominating British politics and debates right now. Although the experience of the changes brought about by immigration will be different from place to place, we expect many of the themes that emerge from following life on Derby Road will resonate across the country..”

Love Production’s Creative Director for Factual Kieran Smith has been the executive producer of Make Bradford British, My Last Summer, and Benefits Street and will oversee this series. He says:

"Immigration is one of the most keenly debated subjects in the UK right now and therefore it is incredibly important that we reflect the honest experiences of people who have settled in the UK and come to consider it as home."

The series of 6 hour-long programmes is set to air in early 2015.