Our original idea for Parklife was for it to be the first TV soap set entirely outside in a park. Then, in 2020, Covid-19 hit and changed all our lives…
It quickly became impossible to get TV projects considered, so we decided instead to try and make Parklife as an audio serial about life during Covid – something we thought could be around for years!
We commissioned a pilot episode which was written by Nicholas McInerny, an award-winning radio dramatist. It was recorded by local actors outside to follow social distancing rules.
It was broadcast on Saturday, 14 November 2020 on Sophie Little’s Upload show on BBC Radio Norfolk and repeated on 21 December the same year.
We were delighted with the positive response from the audience. One listener said “hope Radio Norfolk will take it on for a series. I felt I knew the characters by the end and was left wanting to know more about them“!
You can listen to it here to get a sense of the audio experience we will be creating – just keep in mind the focus for Parklife now is on the climate crisis, rather than the problems thrown up by the pandemic!