OVER the years Panorama has been responsible for some impressive pieces of TV journalism.
On Monday it turned its attention to life on the Shadsworth estate in Blackburn.
It is always difficult to watch objectively any time an area you know is featured on TV. But even had I not been born and brought up in East Lancashire I hope I would have worked out that this was pretty one-dimensional.
It was reminiscent of the fly-on-the-wall documentaries of the early Eighties when producers would bung cameras in front of people and hope they’d make themselves look foolish. Of course, there are serious issues for many residents on Shadsworth, just as there are on estates all over the country.
And the producers must have rubbed their hands in glee to alight upon Alwyn, who appeared to be allergic to the whole concept of working for a living.
But really, what was the point of the programme? There was no calling anyone to account for the estate’s problems and — worse still — there was hardly any effort to show all those working tirelessly to improve life for those on the estate.
There is a probably a good documentary waiting to be made about Shadsworth, but this wasn’t it.
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