(Image: Gordon Terris)
Camera crews and actors were out in Govan this morning to film a new BBC drama.
The production is being made with FOX Entertainment Global, which will distribute the series worldwide, Screen Scotland, BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC Scotland.
The Young Team began filming this morning (Image: Gordon Terris)
Based on Graeme Armstrong's novel of the same name, The Young Team is a six-part fictional drama series.
Jakob James Smith - who starred in Mobland - plays 'Azzy.'
He is joined by Connor Newall - star of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - as 'Big Kenzie' and Scot Greenan - who has been in T2 Trainspotting - plays 'Eck.'
The three actors are joined by emerging talent from across Glasgow and North Lanarkshire.
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Filming on The Young Team in Govan. (Image: Gordon Terris)
The story follows 15-year-old Alan “Azzy” Williams and his friends on a Friday night in Airdrie. They carry bottles of tonic wine, listen to music from small speakers and want to join a local gang called The YTP.
Azzy wants to smoke, take pills, drink wine and fight. When he makes a move to prove himself, a gang conflict begins, putting him at its centre.
The series will explore friendship, identity, territorial violence and belonging whilst also examining addiction, gang violence and the lives of young people who feel left out of society.
Filming on The Young Team in Govan. (Image: Gordon Terris)
The young cast was found through an open casting process in North Lanarkshire. More than 1,000 young people applied, according to director and executive producer Paul McGuigan.
Jakob James Smith said: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be playing Azzy.
"He’s such a complex character and there’s so much in his story about friendship, belonging and trying to find your place.
"Getting to film in North Lanarkshire, where the story is rooted, makes it feel even more special. I can’t wait for people to meet Azzy and the rest of the Young Team.”
Kevin McKidd plays Mr McGiver, Azzy’s headteacher, while Laura Fraser plays his mother, Angela.
Writer Graeme Armstrong said: “The casting process by Synchronicity Films and Des Hamilton has been incredible to see coming alive.
"With both authenticity of language and a real sense of place at the forefront, they’ve built an amazingly talented group of young Scottish actors who, working with director Paul McGuigan on his homecoming project, will deliver something really special.”
Director and executive producer Paul McGuigan, who is returning to film in Scotland for the first time in 30 years, said: “The Young Team has brought me back to direct in Scotland and I can’t think of a more fitting way to mark my professional homecoming.
"It’s a privilege to work with our Young Team cast, an exciting new generation of working-class talent selected from an open audition process that saw over 1,000 young people apply.
"I cannot wait to see our characters come to life, as we bring Graeme’s iconic novel to the screen.”
Filming on The Young Team in Govan. (Image: Gordon Terris)
Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, and Louise Thornton, head of commissioning for BBC Scotland, commissioned the series. Further casting will be announced later.