A town like this?

Cheeseboard Productions Logo

A group of eight people from Rochdale have hit back at the BBC’s documentary ‘The Trouble with Girls’ which painted the town in a very bad light – by making their own documentary.

The group of eight are known as Cheeseboard Productions and they produce various programmes from comedy sketches to short films. This one is called 'A Town Like This.'

When the BBC programme was aired the team were working on another project but cut it short because they were so furious with the programme.

Director Andy Hirst said the show was the ‘last straw’, “I think we had the same reaction as most people in the town. Over the last 6 or 7 years Rochdale has had some bad things said about it and we wanted to change that.”

At a regular production meeting Cheeseboard Productions decided to and make their own documentary and paint Rochdale in a positive light.

The team started filming where the BBC had left off, with single parents. They interviewed a single mother and she painted a different picture about single mothers in the town. She was making the most of what she had for herself and her child.

The interviews got bigger and better as the production went on Mr Hirst said.

“We interviewed Paul Rowen MP and it was great for him to be involved he has been very supportive throughout the production.”

The interviews give a good insight into how passionate the people of Rochdale are about the town.

The short documentary was made over a three week period and is available to watch at:

• www.cheeseboard.tv