BBC This Town boss Steven Knight slaps down ‘bleak’ Birmingham perceptions in gritty drama: ‘It’s beautiful!’

This time around, Knight has returned to the West Midlands and once again travelled back decades for his new drama, This Town.

This Town delves into the story of a young, up-and-coming new band who face violent trials and tribulations in 1980s Birmingham.

The BBC’s synopsis teases the series captures “how creative genius can emerge from a time of madness”.

It continues: “Both a high-octane thriller and a family saga, This Town opens in 1981 at a moment of huge social tensions and unrest.

“Against this backdrop, it tells the story of a group of young people fighting to choose their own paths in life, and each in need of the second chance that music offers.”

However, while fans can expect a fair share of grittiness and rather unpleasant scenes to grace their screens, Knight has been clear that he doesn’t want to represent his home city as merely “bleak”.

In fact, Knight has branded Birmingham “beautiful” and urged viewers not to have their perception of the city skewed.

He explained to the BBC: “1981 was a time of turmoil and change in every sense – in society, in politics but in music as well.

“This series opens with a riot and I hope the sense of ‘riot’ continues throughout the whole thing.

“The riot was a real thing, it happened in Handsworth, Birmingham and I’ve used that to introduce four very different characters who will come together.”

Knight then delved into how he’s “tried not to” make This Town simply about a group of people who start a band.

“I wanted to create a group of people who have no choice other than to form a band because all the other options are so bleak,” he added before clarifying: “Having said that I hope ‘bleak’ isn’t a word that people use to describe this.