"I read it and I was entranced by it and very moved by it."

  - Ken Loach on Nell Dunn's 'Up the Junction'

Written by Nell Dunn and published in 1963, when she was still in her mid-twenties, Up the Junction is a series of short stories depicting life in and around Battersea in the 1960s. Dunn wrote from life - recording incidents, characters and the language from the streets that she heard while living in the area as a young woman.

It was this vitality, rawness and honesty - the mixture of desperation and high spirits - that attracted Ken Loach. There was, he felt, very little need for adaptation, and he quickly saw the potential of turning the stories into a new style of television drama which could fit in with The Wednesday Play ethos. Taken together, the raw subject matter, innovative filming techniques and fresh pop music soundtrack make 'Up the Junction' appear surprisingly contemporary, even today.

In this short film, Ken Loach, Nell Dunn and Tony Garnett - The Wednesday Play's story editor and a longtime Loach collaborator - remember their experiences of working on the production.

Click on 'Featured Video' in the right panel to watch.