NEVER DID ME ANY HARM Never Did Me Any Harm - Part One
This new four part series is for every parent who has ever said “it wasn’t like that when I was young…” In a unique social history experiment, four modern families turn back the clock for two weeks so that their children can live as their parents did when they were young - without the trappings of technology. The opening film features the Gregory family from Milton Keynes. Dad, Jon, does not get any respect from his kids, Hannah 12 and Joshua 10. He wants life to be more like the 1970s when he was growing up on a Leeds council estate, when children knew their place. But when he recreates his strict childhood for his own children, they are not giving up without a fight. They hate the 1970s camper van, trips to the allotment, daily piano practice and tight budget. But will they come to realise why Jon’s childhood made him the man and dad he is today, and why it never did him any harm?
Dir: Zizi Durrance; Series Prod: Susan Crook.

Never Did Me Any Harm - Part Two
In the second of our new social history series, Peter Gunn is so concerned that freedom and the pursuit of individuality is driving his four sons apart, that he decides to take them back to his 1950s childhood. For boys growing up then, it was a time of conformity, strict rules and manly pursuits. So that means short back and sides for Theo, Henry, George and Joe – as well enforced Sunday outings, boxing lessons and some very retro home furnishings. But will the boys – who seldom spend any quality time with each other or as a family - learn to pull together for the first time? Can Peter, normally the stay at home dad, take on the role of being the traditional, distant and disciplinarian 1950s head of the family?
Prod/Dir: Emma Sayce; Series Prod: Susan Crook.

Never Did Me Any Harm - Part Three
In the third episode, Cheryl McIver lives in fear that her five children are being damaged by the technology that surrounds them – why talk to your brothers when there is a television set in every bedroom and a games cube too. So for two weeks, she is determined to take them back to the childhood she knew in 1970s Bolton. Out go all the televisions and the television dinners – in come daily chores, paper rounds, home-made pies, a twin tub and an outdoor loo! There is even a family trip to Blackpool complete with matching outfits for all children to wear on the beach. How will they cope when forced to spend time together without the aid of their beloved gadgets and technology?
Prod/Dir: Zizi Durrance; Series Prod: Susan Crook.

Never Did Me Any Harm - Part Four
Long distance lorry driver Shaun Hart is convinced that, while his childhood was tough, it never did him any harm. His children on the other hand – thirteen year old Aimee and ten year old Adam, have everything that they could ever wish for. They never lift a finger around the house – but all this is about the change. Shaun recreates the childhood he knew in 1970s Essex, where the clothes came from the jumble sale not the designer shops and where 4am in the morning was not a time for sleeping but for potato picking to help bring in extra money for food. His children are in for a short, sharp shock. Will they learn to respect their dad more after a taste of his past and a severe lack of leisure time lounging in front of the television?
Prod/Dir: Kate Morey; Series Prod: Susan Crook.

New series - starts in the UK Feb 13th 2007, on Channel 4 at 9pm.

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Year of Production 2007

Broadcaster
Channel 4

Running Time
4 x 50 mins

Number of Episodes
4

Executive Producer
Tim Carter

Contact Info

0207 284 2020

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