Chalkboard Secures Commission for Inside Prison: Britain Behind Bars

ITV has commissioned Chalkboard TV to produce its new landmark documentary series about what life is like for inmates in the U.K., Inside Prison: Britain Behind Bars.

The 4×60-minute docuseries will see HM Prison Service open up its cell doors with unprecedented access for cameras across numerous prisons up and down the U.K., filming in seven institutions spanning the men’s and women’s estates. The series will offer a 360-degree, unflinching look at life behind bars, seen through the eyes of the men and women on the frontline of Britain’s jails, the prison officers and the prisoners they deal with on a daily basis.

The series goes into women’s prisons HMP Send and HMP Downview, category B prisons HMP Bullingdon and HMP Isle of Wight, HMP Deerbolt and HMP Portland—which house youth offenders—and category C prison HMP Erlestoke.

Through the experiences of both trainee and veteran prison officers and the prisoners themselves, the series will offer a raw insight on what life on the inside is like for everyone in jail on both sides of the cell doors. It will examine the challenges presented to staff by escalating levels of violence across U.K. jails, and explore how officers, drawn from a broad range of backgrounds, ages and experiences, build and maintain relationships with prisoners.

Inside Prison: Britain Behind Bars will also reveal how new recruits are now joining the HM Prison Service to spearhead its efforts to foster a rehabilitative culture to help turn prisoners’ lives around and combat Britain’s £15 billion ($18.2 billion) reoffending problem.

Satmohan Panesar, ITV factual entertainment commissioning editor, said: “With the unrivaled scale of the access, we meet people on both sides of the bars with unbelievable stories that will simultaneously fascinate and frustrate. The extremes of life on the inside, from unexpected acts of compassion to seemingly mundane scenarios that can spark suddenly into violence, will be laid bare through the eyes of those working for the prison service and those detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.”

Chalkboard’s managing director and executive producer, Mike Benson, said: “The modern role of prison officer is a fascinating combination of security officer, confidante and mentor. With the remarkable range access of access we’ve been given we have a brilliant opportunity to explore this evolving role and take a comprehensive snapshot of the prison service.”