Inside real-life Top Boy estate nothing like the 'gang-infested' one on the show
Residents of the estate where Top Boy was filmed have spoken of their pride at being extras in the latest series - but say the real estate is nothing like the fictional one.
The much-talked about London gang drama has blazed back onto our screens with its compellingly murky world of drugs, crime, violence and money. Fans have been waiting more than a year to catch up with drug dealers - and those who took part in filming also couldn't wait.
The Samuda Estate on east London's Isle of Dogs was used as the show's crime-ridden Summerhouse Estate. Although the real residents don't mind it being used to the shady dealings, some have complained the show has done nothing to better their lives. Some residents were drafted in as extras on the show they had followed for years.
The Samuda Estate on the the Isle of Dogs in London where the Netflix show Top Boy was filmed (SWNS)
Juile Hutchinson talks about what is like living on the estate made famous (SWNS)But others complained they hadn’t directly benefitted at all from the show’s tenure in their homes - whereas many believe the housing association which manages the estate did. One Housing put on trips to theme parks or the seaside for children living on the estate, but some parents said they became fully-booked too quick to see their children grab a place.
Some residents also bemoaned the fact that none of money gained from the filming of Top Boy was spent on sprucing-up the tired and aged estate on the Isle of Dogs, which was built back in the 1960s. One stalwart summed up her feelings up by stating: “They’ve done nothing for us.” Previous seasons of Top Boy, which debuted on Channel 4 in 2011 and is set on the fictional Summerhouse Estate in Hackney, east London, were shot on the famous Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle.
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But the series was later cancelled in 2014 and the Heygate Estate was felled a year later to make way for a new development. The popular series was revived by Netflix in 2017, following interest and encouragement from Canadian rapper Drake, who became an executive producer on the show.
The smash hit Netflix show is back and fans love it (Courtesy of Netflix)Searching for a replacement to reprise the role of the Summerhouse estate, the revived series were shot on the Samuda estate; becoming the new home for main characters Sully and Dushane.
Residents on the estate were initially thrilled to see the stars from the show about their city shooting scenes outside their front door; petting their dogs and taking selfies with their excited children during breaks.
Some lucky fans even got cast as extras in the show, as film crews gathered outside their homes for around three months last summer. At the end of the filming, One Housing asked residents what they would like to see the money they’d made from the series spent on. Julie Hutchinson, however - a mother-of-three living near to the entrance of the estate - insists she wasn’t notified at all.
The 52-year-old, who has lived on the Samuda estate for 16 years, says her daughter and granddaughter eventually managed to get two of the coveted spaces on a trip to Legoland, but only after complaining she claims.
“I said I’d let my daughter go but they said there wasn’t any places left,” she explained. I said, ‘How’s that fair? We live here on the estate’. Other kids who don’t live on this estate got to go. All of a sudden, my granddaughter and daughter got a place on the trip to Legoland.
But there aren't many kick-backs, residents say (SWNS)“But One Housing must have got a lot of money and I don’t think that was good enough. They should have done more for the kids.” Other children and parents on the estate weren’t so lucky, and didn’t benefit at all from days out made possible by earnings from Top Boy.
“One Housing have benefitted from the filming, but not the people who actually live here. The people working on it were nice enough. My elder two kids watch the show… I’ve watched it but it’s all about drugs and streets and I’m not into all of that. I think it’s very far-fetched.
“It’s not gang-infested here or anything. It’s not a fair reflection of this estate, but it’s not trying to be. It’s fictional. But the money was meant to go back to the residents, and I don’t think they’ve done that properly. They’ve done nothing for us.”
Solange Albasini, 32, was invited and paid to be an extra on the show, but shares her friend Julie’s disappointment that it didn’t do more to change the estate for the better.
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On how she landed her role, the single mother-of-three, said: “I saw them shooting and went up to the casting manager to ask if they needed any extras. I told her I was a resident and she said, ‘That’s perfect; we like to have real residents involved’.
“I saw myself on the first episode of the new series… It was crazy. I was a big fan and have kept track of the show from the beginning.” But on the benefits it brought to the community, Ms Albasini added: “They did arrange some outings… but not everyone got to take advantage of them.”
A spokesperson from One Housing, part of Riverside, said: “The funding we received for use of the Samuda estate to film Top Boy has contributed to the resident engagement, financial and community support services we offer. It was important to us that we consulted residents at Samuda (around 500 properties) on how they would like to spend the funds."
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