The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities
The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities is a British television documentary series based on the Pepys estate in Deptford, south-east London. The eight-part series premiered on 25 June 2007, on BBC One. In 2004, Lewisham council sold one of three adjacent public housing tower blocks on the economically deprived Pepys Estate to a private property developer. The tower was converted into luxury apartments and sold to people who, for the most part, did not grow up in the local area. The documentary was filmed over three years and chronicled the difficulties faced by some of the local residents in adapting to the changes sweeping the neighbourhood. Notable characters included heroin-addicted Leol and his alcoholic best friend Nicky, and the landlord of the local pub who is struggling with the challenges of satisfying his conservative 'old guard' and tempting the new arrivals - mostly young and relatively wealthy - into his traditional boozer. The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities won the best factual series BAFTA award in 2008.
Episodes
Five years after Lewisham council sold off one of its riverside tower blocks to be transformed into chic apartments for young professionals, the transformation of the Tower is due to begin. Before the private developers can move in, however, all the old tenants must go. Les Brooks, a professional clown, is the last existing occupant in the Tower and he's refusing to go quietly. Elsewhere on the estate, his neighbours have their own private battles to fight.
The last tenant has been removed from the ex council tower block. The developers Berkley homes can now start the renovation. Their marketing department are keen to sell the virtues of riverside living, but on the estate there are others who are desperate to leave. Edith Corlis is expecting her seventh baby, her block too is due for redevelopment and most of her neighbours have left. However, she is stuck and the squatters have moved in and are making her life a misery. Although Kelley Garcia, Edith's best friend, has patched up her relationship with Wayne they have a more pressing crisis at home with their young son Tyrell. Lol Gilbert has failed to win his girlfriend back and has taken up again with the other love of his life, heroin. Strong language.
Inside the Tower, the interior designers are hard at work creating the dream of sky-high modern urban living. While publicans Doug and Brenda Elsley face bankruptcy as their regular customers drift away, successful restauranteur Bambos Manoros has bought two flats. Plus Edith Corlis is ready to move to her new home, but first she has to give birth to her seventh child.
With the show flats in the Tower selling fast, two prospective purchasers are excited by the dream of modern living. However, first they are due to marry and Saima is experiencing some doubts about what married life with Usman will actually be like. Eight-year-old Chantelle is afraid to leave her flat as she tries to come to terms with a dad who's never there. Bambos's family are not so sure that they want to all live together on a street in the sky.
Love is in the air in the Tower and on the estate. Kelley Garcia finally weds Wayne Tapper, with half of the estate in tow. Newcomers Saima and Usman are now in Pakistan for their arranged wedding and any room for doubt is rapidly running out. For devout Muslim Shakor, life after an arranged marriage means coping with a wife and kids and making a life on the estate. However the summer of love on the estate is abruptly disrupted. The 7/7 bombings send shock waves through the community.
Nessar's wealthy family have bought several new properties in the Tower, but before she can move in she must pass her law exams and win her dream job in the city. On the estate, Lol Gilbert's health is rapidly deteriorating after years of heroin abuse. When his close friend Tony overdoses, Lol goes too far, while Tony's grief-stricken mother Cherie tries to repair her life after years of heroin abuse in the family.
The Tower is complete and the first of the new tenants move in, including gay couple David and Paul. While Saima and Usman get used to married life, some harsh realities begin to come home to them. Elsewhere, retired gangster Harry Hayward feels overwhelmed by the changes, and Lol Gilbert's drug use continues as his friend Nicky plans his escape.
The Tower is now fully occupied. For the residents this is a new beginning, but it is the end of an era for Deptford. The most expensive penthouse has been bought by 27-year-old millionaire property developer Guy Bullerwell whose company buys up, on average, a house a day in south east London. The ex-council houses are rented out to young professionals who work across the river in Canary Wharf. Retired gangster Harry Hayward and his band of Deptford pensioners don't recognise their part of town now, so with his best friend fighting for his life in hospital and his funding drying up the future is not bright for the reformed villain. For Lol Gilbert the prospect of a life of lonely drug abuse without his friend Nicky is finally sinking in. But Nicky has one last surprise for his friend.
