Last updated at 17:25, Friday, 14 December 2012

AN aspiring young film director from Barrow is set to work alongside the likes of Disney and the Discovery Channel.

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Dan Charles, of Tall and the Small Productions, had his first documentary Second Class Citizen, which looks at the daily strife of homeless people, aired on Monday.

The 23-year-old, who went to Parkview School, was thrilled when he had the first part of the 10 minute show aired on the Community Channel. The filmmaker and presenter explained how the film “explores the lives of the people I met”.

Mr Charles, who now lives in Newcastle, said: “It is a documentary about the homeless community within the North East.”

The inspiration for the film came from a conversation with a homeless man begging for change. Mr Charles said: “He had been in the Royal Air Force, and had a wife. However, following his wife’s death, he couldn’t meet mortgage payments.”

Mr Charles added: “It’s shocking that somebody who fought for our country could be homeless.”

During the filming of the documentary Mr Charles slept rough on the streets for a night to allow him to fully understand the problems faced by the homeless community in Newcastle.

He said the things he saw were “horrendous”.

He said: “A pregnant, 19-year-old girl injecting heroin was one of the worst things I witnessed.”

Mr Charles has also been commissioned to film a pilot for a new show cookery show for the Discovery Channel. He said the show, to be called TEN/£10, will see top chefs from different cities throughout the UK set the challenge of creating a meal for four people on a budget.

The budding filmmaker and presenter is also in talks with Disney UK for his new gunge-filled show The Insane Same Game, where young, unknown bands battle it out for the chance to play at the end of the show. He said the company has encouraged him to film the pilot for the show in January 2013.

First published at 16:52, Friday, 14 December 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk