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Will Pete's stay turn into a shambles?

Chris Jones
20/ 3/2008

TROUBLED rock star Pete Doherty is set to meet drug-afflicted youngsters for a new TV show.

The Babyshambles front man, who has become a house-hold name thanks to his own battle against a heroin addiction, is rumoured to be heading to Langley to film a documentary for Channel 4, according to reports in the national press.

It is believed the programme will see the ex-squeeze of supermodel Kate Moss stay with a family on the estate and see how heroin addiction effects the lives of the residents. He will engage youngsters in music therapy in a bid to kick the habit.

The programme, which will also be filmed on Sheffield’s Manor Park, is likely to be screened later in the year.

But residents have already told the 28-year-old punk revivalist to stay away from the estate, fearing the programme will unfairly portray the estate as ‘one of Britain's hardest’ and undo years of hard work and millions of pounds worth of investment.

Community activist Phil Burke says he fears the programme would be a kick in the teeth for residents on the estate.

He added: "We have a number of organisations on Langley that are working 24/7 to improve the quality of life for people on Langley and this will be a kick in the teeth and damage the reputation of the estate and good harding working people of Langley.

"Channel 4 and Pete Doherty should stay away and if he wants to make a documentary on it he should go to London or wherever ever it is he buys his drugs.

"Langley does not have the same problems with gangs, guns and knives that this sort of programme will portray, and it will set back all the hard work that has taken place on the estate."

Former councillor Terry Smith said he feared the programme would fail to address the real problems of drug users on the estate.

He said: "I’ve heard the rumours about this show, but if they are going to do it, they need to go round and speak to people to find out about the real problem, and that’s 11-year-old kids taking drugs because they’re following older ones who haven’t moved on, it’s not smack and crack heads anymore.

"What we don’t want is them just talking to the usual suspects – the council and the councillors – and not getting the real picture of what’s going on."