BBC Three is currently airing one of their newest shows PRU. PRU – which stands for pupil referral unit – is a comedy series ab on a group of 15-year-olds struggling to navigate their way through adolescence in a school for excluded kids.
The series stars Tom Moutchi and Hannah Walters as the teachers at the PRU as well as Michael ‘MBbants’ Boahen, Nkechi Simms, Pia Somersby and Jaye Esravas as the teens the show focuses on. Using comedy, the show sheds a light on what kids who’ve been excluded from schools and have been in PRUs go through.
The show was created through Fully Focused, the leading youth-driven production company in the UK. Teddy Nygh, the co-founder of Fully Focused and Nick Bedu, the Exec Producer of PRU, co-founder and Head of Production at Fully Focused Productions, sat down with GRM to discuss how their BBC Three show came to be.
How did you guys set up at Fully Focused?
Nick: Teddy had been working already in the media industry doing some documentaries and I’ve been working in the TV industry already and we actually came together by chance on a project where Teddy directed it and I was the producer, and it was it was a project with the young people in Haringey. Teddy and I are actually old school friends but he was directing music videos and stuff and I’ve been working in various parts of TV so I got this project and it was a creative project with young people from Tottenham who are in gangs and we worked together so well that we just kind of clicked and said, you know what, this is actually what we believe in terms of letting young people realise their potential and get their voices heard, especially if they’re from communities where that’s not the norm in our industry.
Teddy: I was working with young people as well at the time (2010) and had been wanting to set up an organization for a while, from everything I’d learnt working with other organizations. All the young people I was working with were people who were visiting estates or pupil referral units or youth offending or whatever it was. Growing up I had my own stuff as a teenager so as soon as I was able to, I wanted to reach young people that have been through similar stories that I could hopefully relate to them. The project that Nick spoke to me about was the perfect thing to work on together.
Nick: When I was coming up in the TV industry there was nothing like Fully Focused, there was nothing that made you feel like you belonged in the industry…you had to go there and fit in, you had to worry if you could you be yourself. That’s changing now and we feel we’re at the forefront of that change.
What gave you the idea for the show PRU?
Nick: PRU was a natural fit for us. The idea for PRU came from Teddy and the writers from them meeting up together and developing the idea. But if you look back from 2010 till now, we’ve been making films with a social conscience, making films where young people’s voices could be heard, with positive social messages talking about the issues they face on a daily basis. PRU is like a natural progression of all the work we’ve done beforehand.
Teddy: In terms of PRU, I was kicked out of school when I was 15, didn’t get to do my GCSEs and kinda went on a mad path as a teenager. I always kind of wanted to do some work that involved young people and so a lot of environments I was going into were pupil referral units. I really wanted to tell a story set in a PRU and I felt that comedy was a really good way, and I knew the writers had something similar they wanted to do. Combining forces to create the story made sense. Like Nick said there’s a lot of social impact stuff. Doing a comedy like this, doing a show like this, kind of comedy-drama, it’s definitely comedy at the heart of it but there are some serious moments in there. We touch on a lot of different topics which is the kind of work that we like to do. With people involved whether it’s some of the main cast, or whether it’s some of the young team that were involved in some of the day roles and supporting artists roles, they’ve been in PRUs growing up as well, both the writers have as well so a lot of it is from lived experience.
What was the casting process like? How did you choose who was going to embody these characters?
Nick: We’d done the pilot and wanted to follow a similar process because obviously, we’re about opportunity. We had a great casting director called Jessica Straker…she helped put out calls. So we had calls for agencies and established agencies looking for established actors too, but we also had an open call going out and an Insta live where anyone could just come onto the session, let us know that they were there and we found a slot for them to read some of the script or talk about themselves and whatnot. We always wanted it to be open and as democratic as possible to give opportunities to young people and people who hadn’t necessarily come through the traditional routes of drama schools and the like but still wanted to be able to have their chance you know? So, we ran a series of Insta lives and called people back and kept going until we’d drilled down and found the cast we felt could embody the roles.
Teddy: It was important for us to find some of the main cast who maybe this could be their first job and keep it as real and authentic as possible. The Insta live auditions were an interesting way to do that and we ran those for the pilot. Going into the series we had quite a few of the roles already cast. Jessica Straker, she came on to help with the series and we had a few different phases, Insta lives, open casting with people sending self-tapes, then we had Zooms then in person. It was a really detailed process to ensure no stone was left unturned…we were gonna find our amazing cast and we did, we’re so happy with all of them.
What was the production process like?
Nick: It was an amazing experience. We have made so many short films and big-scale stuff too, this was our first broadcast series as an organisation, which comes with a different mechanism beneath it you know?
PRU had over 250 people employed throughout the duration of its production in various roles including 50 trainee workers (25 on set, 25 on set) who shadowed areas like the camera team and costume department. By mixing these trainees with professionals they were able to learn on the job.
Covid still impacted the production with it stopping three times, but the crew and cast were able to adhere to rules and carried on until production wrapped on February 2nd.
Throughout the episodes, the stories are told through the eyes of four complex teenagers – Jaeden (Michael Boahen), Sienna (Nkechi Simms), Halil (Jaye Esravas) and Belle (Pia Somersby).
Michael and Nkechi joined the interview and provided more insight into the show and their characters.
How does it feel for you guys to be part of a show like this?
Nkechi: It was sick! It was a big deal, it was very exciting, and I think for me, I spent the whole time taking it in and felt very lucky to be part of such a sick production. And with the BBC like that’s official.
Michael: For me it was like a whole new experience, something I’ve never done in my life before, so I was grateful the whole way and just enjoyed it really.
Did you guys use any real-world experiences you’ve had when embodying your characters?
Michael: Yeah defo, for my character, he doesn’t get involved in certain situations unless he gets brought into it and it’s a thing where I can relate to that. I mind my business in real life but I still get involved with certain things that people are dragging me into.
Nkechi: My character is a little bit stubborn, but it’s only because she sees the world in black and white. When she gets her heart or mind set on something she just does what she thinks is right which I can definitely relate to. It ends up getting her in a little bit of trouble, so she sort of has to navigate that. I also went to a PRU so I was able to sort of tap into my own memories and experiences of that as well.
Tom Moutchi, who first burst onto the scene in the early 2010s with his funny YouTube skits and Vines before transitioning into film and TV roles as well as producing, is also part of the PRU cast. Michael and Nkechi discussed what it was like working alongside him on the show.
You guys get to work with Tom Moutchi who’s been in the industry for a while, what was that like?
Michael: I spoke with Tom way before PRU but seeing him for the first time doing PRU it was exciting cos I used to watch him when I was younger. He’s been giving me advice on things since I’m kinda going down the same route that he did. So, it’s a blessing really to have someone to talk to that can relate to what I do.
Nkechi: I was gassed to work with Tom. I’d gone to see him a few years before in a play called the Barbershop Chronicles and I ended up chatting to him afterwards and he was super nice and gave me acting advice and stuff. I remember when it came to being on set with him and doing scenes with him, getting to know him, and working with him, that was so sick, felt very surreal. And Hannah (Walters) was defo like the mum for us.
How has it been working with Fully Focused Productions as one of the leading youth-driven production companies in the UK?
Nkechi: It was very refreshing. It’s a big job and it’s a big undertaking so when you’re on set like that you feel really lucky if you’re with people that are fun to work with and similar to you and learning and wanting to do the best they can. It felt like a really supportive and nurturing environment. Everybody’s trying something new or working really hard to do their best and bring something to the table and make a good show. I loved it and loved being around so many people that had such good strong energy.
Michael: Everyone in the production crew has incredible energy, especially with a young cast and production crew. It just made everything easier.
Finally, what do you guys hope people take away from the show?
Michael: I just hope they take it in properly. There are certain things in the series that a lot of people can relate to, especially kids that have been to a PRU. Hopefully, people take on what’s going on and they can relate.
Nkechi: I agree with Michael it’s a very deep show, like it’s funny and you laugh a lot but we actually tackle some very serious themes. I’m really proud of the way we’ve gone about doing that. I hope when people watch the show, they feel seen and they can relate to it. I also hope adults can watch it with a fresh set of eyes and can understand the new generation and yeah I just hope people enjoy it.
Nick: For me, it’s similar, we did this to shine a light on the world of exclusion. It’s for people to relate to these characters and for us to humanise these characters.
Teddy: I want people to take away the love we have for each other and the culture and these characters that we’re representing. And being seen is important because when you’re excluded that word kind of says it. Excluded…from everything, society, school, friends, family. Your own thoughts sometimes you can just feel alone and forgotten about from this show is that voice to say we see you, we appreciate you, we’re celebrating you and that’s what I want people to take away from it.
Music has a strong presence in PRU. Teddy and Nick both talked about how important the soundtrack is to the show and culture. With songs from artists like Kano, J Hus, Little Simz, Pa Salieu, Aitch and more the soundtrack helps set the vibe of the show and sets the atmosphere, adding another element of relatability to the show that viewers will enjoy.
Nick and Teddy were hopeful for a series 2, speaking to the “untapped potential” that the show has.
All four episodes are now available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
(Image Credit: BBC Pictures)