New drama Rock Bottom draws inspiration from the real-life stories of children living on the breadline in Leeds.
The new series showcases the effects of ten years of austerity on Leeds' poorest families, following the lives of three children living in poverty in the city.
It's created by Leeds local Jason Lumsden, who has had first-hand experience of life at both ends of the scale - going from rags to riches, and back to rags again.
Born and raised in Leeds, he loves the city and says he "knows everywhere."
Having run an organisation working with children and families living in poverty in the city for many years, he also has intimate knowledge of the local issues experienced by the most vulnerable.
Now, he's written a TV series to highlight them to the rest of the country.
It's not necessarily an easy watch, but an essential one in Lumsden's opinion - who hopes the show will bring to light the problems experienced by those living in poverty in the city right now.
He's drawn on his own experiences to shape some scenes, including one in which a little boy opens his fridge to find absolutely nothing inside.
“There’s a strong link between financial anxiety and depression, and when you hit rock bottom to open the fridge door and there’s nothing there," he told Leeds Live.
A lot of the issues in the series are based on the issues I came across when I was working with kids in poverty,” he said.
“It was in the early 2000s, and around then, cuts hit and there was less budget to go around and more people were living in austerity.
“I met lots of kids who felt like no one cared, and I used to say, ‘You could fill Elland Road stadium up with all the kids not going to school’.”
Jason added: “Kids had been let down and faced financial discrimination, which I think is underestimated.
“These were the observations I made when working with people on the breadline and I tried to show that in the series.”
Five years in the making, the drama has been a real passion project for Lumsden and is now available to watch on Amazon Prime.
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Take a look inside the huge Tulip Festival that’s just opened in Yorkshire with over one million tulips
Farmer Copley's Tulip Festival is back and it's just as beautiful as we remember.
Spring has officially sprung and with it, so does Farmer Copley's iconic Tulip Festival that officially opened last Sunday.
Based in West Yorkshire, nestled between Pontefract and Featherstone, the Copley family really know how to get you feeling ready for the season ahead.
Just moments after entering the festival, we can assure you that winter will feel like a distant memory.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Spanning over 8 acres, Jack and the team have planted over 600,00 tulip bulbs consisting of 100+ different varieties of all shapes and colours that arrived directly from the Netherlands.
In addition to the 500,000 planted last year, that means there's over one million tulips to enjoy - now that is pretty impressive if you ask us.
Varieties include Carnaval de Rio, Tom Pouce, Gavota, Lily Flowering Mix, Blushing Appledorn, Wedding Dress and Rodolfo.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The festival includes five sections that have been split by 5 metre walkways enabling the best customer interaction in the field.
There's two dedicated pick your own areas where a mix of bulbs have been planted to ensure that visitors have a wide range of tulips to explore, pick from and create the perfect bunch of tulips. How lovely is that?
Of course there's plenty of photo opportunities, fairground rides and a bar to enjoy the view with a tipple or two.
This really is the perfect family-friendly day out and with the weather looking gorgeous (for now), we'd take the opportunity to see the tulips looking their best whilst you can.
The festival is on until Sunday 3 May 2026, with tickets starting from just £9.
To find out more and to book your ticket, take a look at Farmer Copleys website. We'll see you in the tulip fields.
Popular Channel 4 series The Dog House is looking for people from Yorkshire to adopt rescue dogs
Emily Sergeant
Could you give a rescue dog a second chance in life? Now’s your chance.
The next series of hit Channel 4 show The Dog House is currently in the works, with producers on the lookout for people willing to give rescue dogs a forever home, and people from Yorkshire are being encouraged to apply.
Since first hitting our screens back in 2019, the award-winning series – which is currently in partnership with Woodgreen Pets Charity – has captured the hearts of viewers across the UK, sharing emotional stories of rescue dogs and the people hoping to give them a forever home.
Viewers get to watch incredible journeys of rescue dogs finding their perfect match.
Image: Channel 4
But the show demonstrates that it’s not just the dogs who are being rescued, many of their new owners also find their lives transformed in the process.
“Once again, we’ll be following the expert team of dog-matchers, meeting this year’s rescue dogs, and of course, getting to the know the amazing people who are looking to offer them a lifelong home,” a casting call for The Dog House reads on the Channel 4 website.
“We’re looking for people who are considering taking the incredible step of welcoming a rescue dog into their lives and are happy to share their reasons for doing so.
“If that’s you, then we’d love to get you know you.”
Does this sound like you then? Channel 4 is keen to hear the reasons why you may be looking for a new canine companion, so anyone who fancies applying for the show is asked to fill out an application form online.
Georgina Pellant -
20th May 2021 
