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Residents of the east London estate where Netflix's Top Boy was filmed have been left fuming at not seeing enough of the profits.
The Samuda Estate on east London's Isle of Dogs was used as the show's crime-ridden Summerhouse Estate based a few miles north in Hackney.
Locals insist that unlike in Netflix, their home is far from gang-infested.
READ MORE: Ruthless real-life Top Boy gangsters who inspired Dushane and Sully's reign of terror
Despite days out for kids living in the estate being organised with money earned from filming, parents aren't satisfied it's enough after months of interruption for filming.
Some residents have bemoaned nothing has since been spent on sprucing-up the tired and aged estate, which was built back in the 1960s.
One stalwart summed up her feelings up by stating: “They’ve done nothing for us.”
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.
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.
Ms Hutchinson added that the estate is in disrepair, and complained about the fact that nothing much has changed since the show entered their lives.
“The estate is really run-down,” Ms Hutchinson said. “They don’t do any work on it.
“One Housing have benefitted from the filming, but not the people who actually live here. The people working on it were nice enough.
“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.
The single mother-of-three, said: “I saw myself on the first episode of the new series… It was crazy.
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.
“The feedback from residents we have received has been really positive and we’re looking forward to organising further events and activities in line with their wishes and brilliant ideas – such as fitness classes, community days, sign language lessons, musical performances and first aid courses."
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- Property
- Money
- Netflix
- London
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