NEW GEN GYPSIES
A structured reality show that uncovers the real lives of the new generation of British Romany Gypsies. Can they find their way through the modern world without abandoning their traditions?
Funded Development (July-Sept 2023): concept, characters, locations, storylines.
SHOW CONCEPT
In a TV first, Rural Studios are looking to create a new, aspirational Factual Reality series based on a core cast of British Romany Gypsies (RG’s) with a production team that is Romany Gypsy led.
We will be capturing the highs and lows of contemporary Romany Gypsy life as seen through the eyes of Romany Gypsies themselves. Full of heart, drama and comedy, this highly entertaining, celebratory series will be an authentic portrayal of what it means to be a young, ambitious Romany Gypsy in Britain today. Although the focus will be on the younger generation, as the community are so family oriented and commonly assume multi-generational living arrangements, these other demographics will also feature prominently which in turn will appeal to a broad audience.
The recent success of the Netflix series “At Home With The Furys” has revived interest in the British Romany Gypsy & Traveller community and demonstrated once again the British public's enduring fascination with these often misunderstood ethnic minority groups. The timing therefore could not be better to follow a group of ambitious, younger RG’s as they try to make their way in the world and realize their dreams.
THE SITE: OUR PRINCIPAL LOCATION
Our main characters will be living on a fixed site, filled by various mobile homes and caravans where their family and extended family live. The site has a communal outside area used for socialising, cooking and campfires. Though the site will be the recognisable home for audiences, we want to follow their lives in and outside the site, whether that be at work, traveling with family, on holidays, parties, events or the famous horse fairs. Equally, supporting characters would come from outside and visit them at the site including the occasional ‘Gorja’ (Romani word, for non-Gypsy).
OTHER KEY LOCATIONS AND EVENTS
Aside from this principal location, our cast will gravitate towards a series of other key locations that together make up our world. These places reflect their favourite pastimes, passions and values. This initial development phase has identified sports clubs and venues, (boxing, golf and horse racing predominantly) beauty salons, churches (C of E and Pentecostal) pubs and local eateries as being especially popular, giving us plenty of set-ups for the show.
The horse fairs such as Appleby Fair, Stow Fair and the Epsom Derby are large scale events that feature prominently in the RG’s calendar. They represent vitally important opportunities for Romany Gypsies from around Britain to come together and celebrate their threatened way of life. These will deliver big set pieces for the programme where storylines can be created and come to a head.
LEADING CHARACTERS AND LOCATIONS
During the first phase of development we secured provisional access to a number of RG characters and worlds. Listed below are those that we believe have the greatest potential to be lead characters in the series. Two of the families, The Frankhams and The Smiths, are already close whilst the others could be introduced to them, so their worlds meet.
These shortlisted characters are located in Central London, the Greater London area, the South East and Berkshire but all have strong ties to other family members that are scattered throughout the UK. The series could be built around these characters, their partners, closest friends and immediate family. Secondary characters would comprise of their other blood relations, in-laws and wider circle of friends.
SHORTLISTED INDIVIDUALS, COUPLES AND FAMILIES TO DATE
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The Loved-up Gen Z RG couple trying to live as modern gypsies without abandoning their traditional values.
Tik Tok sensation Chantelle and her tree surgeon hubby Swaley are desperate for a baby after two miscarriages. They’re keen to make their elopement official with a Big Wedding and shut up the trolls who say they are Living in Sin. Her confessional blogs on everything from mental health to cleaning hacks and being a Gen Z Roma woman have been picked up by The Sun.
tiktok.com/@chantelle19xoxo
instagram.com/chantelle_19_xo
Video intro - https://f.io/gdd-rlgv
Chantelle takes to social media to discuss everything in her life as a young Romany Gypsy woman from cleaning hacks (cleaning is her therapy), mental health, body image and miscarriage. Swaley is passionate about his landscaping business and going lamping with his lurchers.
Despite both of them leaving school early and experiencing racist bullying they want to send their own kids (when they have them) to school.
Chantelle is devoted to her younger sister Lisa Marie (16) and Granny Rita (73), a larger than life character who controls vermin with her air rifle and loves her music loud. Rita - “She’s 73 going on 17,” says Chantelle - lives on a private eight van site in Slough.
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A Romany family steeped in boxing and horses who enjoy the ‘good things in life’. John Frankham is hugely respected in the horsing world, while his Gen Z sons and cousins are carving out careers as pro-boxers.
Charles ‘Boom Boom’ Frankham (23) is a super-featherweight pro-boxer with 9 undefeated fights to his name. Tipped for big things with a glittering amateur career behind him. Now signed to legendary promoter Frank Warren. Coached as an amateur by his dad John who follows his career obsessively. (twitter.com/CharlesFrankham)
Levi Frankham (22), Charles’s cousin and Tyson Fury’s cousin-in-law who has only just turned pro and signed to Frank Warren (twitter.com/levi17frankham; instagram.com/levi_frankham17)
Joshua Frankham (24), Charles and Levi’s cousin, a super-welterweight pro-boxer who is also signed to Frank Warren, having been introduced by Fury. (twitter.com/Joshfrankham1; instagram.com/j_frankham)
Eli Frankham (30), the cousin soon to be released from prison after serving a second term in jail after being caught with a shot gun without a license. Eli also turned to boxing after a troubled childhood. He has ambitions to resume boxing after his release but might too old.
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A respected member of one of the largest and best-connected Romany Gypsy families in the UK, Joe Smith aka Gypsy Joe has 6 siblings, 5 kids, a golf obsession and strong faith.
Joe makes his money from a scrap metal business that’s now overseen day-to-day by his son in law. He describes his immediate family as sports nuts. Golf is his passion. He is a former professional golfer who remains very active on the pro-am circuit competing every summer in a series of UK and European tournaments. He works hard in the Winter to fund these trips and is ‘still chasing the dream’ of returning to the pro game.
When he’s not on the golf course for the most part he’s either coaching his sons in boxing or golf or strategizing for his latest venture his sports-focused YouTube channel. Joe describes himself as fully part of the non GR mainstream but also being a Gypsy at heart with his love of music (all kinds), the open road, traditional Christian values and being a “fair man”.
Gypsy Joe’s kids:
Rymer (28) aspiring boxer/golfer married to a Traveller (lives down the road works in the family business)
Christina (24) married no kids works in an office in admin
Louis (19) daughter single former pre-school teaching assistant taking time out
Joe Jnr (17) boxer – a boxing obsessive coached by dad
Aaron “Airen” (11) golfing nut, doesn’t draw breath, tenacious, endures school, practices golf for hours on end.
Joe is very ambitious for his kids to succeed, especially the boys and their sporting goals. He coaches them in golf and boxing. For him it’s all about inculcating the right mental attitude.
His wife “detests” boxing but can see the pay off in the case of son Joe with him shedding seven stone to make the cut.
Other facts:
When his golf club discovered he was a Romany Gypsy he was asked to leave.
Joe returned to bare knuckle fighting where he was known as a “fair play man” who adjudicated bare-knuckle fights.
He is a natural raconteur and published author on the history of Gypsy boxing.
Raised in west London he describes himself as a “Londoner Romany Gypsy.”
Holding Christian (conservative) values Joe advocates for no sex before marriage and attends mass at his local C of E church every Sunday.
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Super glam ambitious sisters whose hair and eyelashes business is on the up. Their main business coming from Gypsy and Traveller wedding
Liza, 28 has 14k followers on Instagram and works closely with little sister Chanelle, who is married with two kids. The girls are from a big well-known family on their mum’s side. They don’t talk to dad.
The sisters live together in a trailer on their own land and their aim is to grow the business and get ‘Insta-Rich’ along on the way.
“I went to school; it wasn’t great. I didn’t go to college so I taught myself hair styling. The business has grown by word of mouth and Instagram. My aim is to be rich.” - Liza
instagram.com/lizasweddinghair
tiktok.com/@chanelletreeby3
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The Gen Z Romany millionaire entrepreneur and Muslim convert, Alfie Best Junior is the son of the Romany Gypsy billionaire businessman Alfie Best Snr. He’s got 190k followers on Instagram.
Alfie left school at 12, hired a van and a driver and sold cleaning products to factory bosses. Went on to be a professional super featherweight boxer. He is now joint 85th in the Rich List of people under 30, and on course to be the first Gypsy Billionaire.
He claims to be first Traveller to convert to Islam: “What I understand is that it helps me. It felt right for me.” Alfie Jr has received criticism for his faith, but tries not to take notice of it. He says he found not vaping more difficult than not eating during Ramadan.
Dad, Alfie Best Senior, has a net worth of £740m and owns a personalised £4.5m Aston Martin helicopter and has one of the country’s biggest private collections of supercars. The workaholics’ wealth comes from his residential park home empire, Wyldecrest Parks. He believes in giving back to the community and recently rescued his local football club, East Thurrock FC, from bankruptcy.
OUR ACCESS
Travellers’ Times
Rural Studio’s sister company Rural Media produce Travellers’ Times, a quarterly magazine and website by and for Gypsy Roma & Traveller people. A trusted platform for these communities, the Travellers’ Times provides Rural Studios with a link to the GRT people across the UK. Our association with it also helps to secure trust within a community that is suspicious about mainstream UK media.
TT Vision
Rural Media also runs a training programme, TT Vision, with a view to handing the running of Travellers’ Times media brand over to Romany Gypsy community. We would offer placement opportunities to TT trainees providing them with an invaluable opportunity to get experience on the production. Some of these trainees have access to more hidden RG worlds and we would potentially be able to access these via our trainees.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM
A British Gypsy Roma Production Team
Jake Bowers - experienced Romani journalist, filmmaker, producer and media teacher. Jake was a producer on the C4 series “60 Days With The Gypsies.” He played a pivotal role in sourcing characters and securing access for this series. He has an unparalleled contacts book and grasp of issues affecting the community.
Kate Briggs Price - young up and coming producer/director with an extensive network of contacts across the British Roma Gypsy community. As part of her University degree Kate made a documentary highlighting the barriers faced by young Romani people in higher education this secured her a place on the prestigious Grierson DocLab training scheme. Since graduating in from DocLab Kate has worked as a digital producer/director on short documentaries and branded content for brands such as the UK Government, Capital FM and Channel 4 (current) with stints in between as a freelance researcher for a number of indies.
Damian La Bas - writer, academic, presenter and former editor of Traveller Times. Damian has consulted on a number of productions with Gypsy Roma content and themes. He wrote and presented “A Very British History: Romany Gypsies” on BBC4. His book The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain was serialized on BBC R4.
Grant Black - creative director of Rural Studios and Deputy CEO of Rural Media will be the lead Executive Producer for the series. Grant has a number of unscripted and scripted credits. He written for younger skewing shows including The Cut (BBC2), Myths with Ridley Scott Associates for (BBC2) and Hollyoaks (Channel 4) and has been Senior Story Producer and Consultant on reality shows including The Only Way is Essex and First Time Farmers. Grant has also led talent development programmes for BBC Wales, BBC Arts and Channel 4's Random Acts, executive producing over 100 short films across all three schemes.
THE NEXT DEVELOPMENT PHASE
Now that we have the trust and access of some key characters, additional development funding would provide us with the resource to follow up with these individuals and explore the stories with their families and closest friends. We would bring on an experienced Reality Producer to spend time on the ground in and amongst the community to gather the stories that can launch the show.
Our reality producer would work alongside one of Rural Studio’s Romany producers such as Jake Bowers or Kate Briggs Price both of whom have the trust of that community and secured this provisional access for us.