Youthless, film made on Shipley estate, to become TV series

Inspired by filmmaker Jordon Scott Kennedy’s coming-of-age journey, Youthless tells the story of a group of teens unknowingly embarking on the last day of their childhoods.

Youthless was filmed in houses on Wycliffe Gardens in Shipley with a cast made up of local actors and residents.

After a successful screening earlier this year, Youthless has been officially optioned by Rollem productions for development as a TV series.

Rollem, a female-led indie company based in Leeds, was behind BAFTA award-winning writer Kay Mellor OBE’s Fat Friends, The Syndicate, Love, Lies & Records, Girlfriends, and In The Club.

Jordon, who grew up on  the Dewsbury Moor estate, wanted to capture the world he saw as a 13-year-old during the summer holidays.

To bring his vision to life, he worked alongside Idle Work Factory with backing from Channel 4 and Bradford Council.

The black-and-white film even caught the attention of legendary screenwriter Jimmy McGovern.

Now, his tale about working-class life will reach a whole new audience. 

Speaking about Youthless’ journey to the screen, Jordon said: “We had lots of people getting in touch. Some people got in touch wanting to share their locations, they ended up being people that were in the film.

"It had such a great response from the local community. It felt really authentic.

“With realism the one thing I notice with films is that so often they’re made about working-class people but not with working-class people. 

Filming for Youthless (Image: Jordon Scott Kennedy)

“I didn’t want professional actors. I wanted that sense of realism. 

“When you make a film your next job is to spend that next year trying to get people to watch it. “We ended up just putting a screening on.

"We had such a fantastic response, not just from people in the industry but people who came down to watch it. It was word of mouth.  

“Rollem Productions asked to see the film. I just wanted to be on their radar. They sent me an email saying, would you be up for having a coffee? When I sat down with Rollem the first thing she said was we want to make it into a TV series. I was trying to be as cool as possible but my brain inside’s going ‘don’t cry, don’t cry’.”

Jordon is currently transforming his 20-minute-long film into 18 hours worth of scripts.

“It was amazing,” said Jordan, who now lives in Bradford.

“For it to be optioned as a TV series it was just mind-blowing. I’m still pinching myself. I’m still waiting for reality to creep in. It’s just been nothing but positive. 

“You dream of these moments and when they happen you don’t want to celebrate too much in case it backfires. It’s just been one of those moments, it’s gone from strength to strength.”