TV Preview: The People Next Door - Riveting!

In the early hours of the morning, a young, middle-class couple are interviewed by the police about an altercation with their neighbours. While they claim it’s their neighbours who are in the wrong, the police seem convinced that is they who have committed a crime. The story of how they ended up being interviewed by the police is revealed through a series of flashbacks to the ‘evidence’ they have recorded on CCTV cameras and other devices at their home.


The People Next Door, which premieres later this month on Channel 4, explores the story of young expectant parents Richard (Karl Davies – Happy Valley, Emmerdale) and Gemma (Joanna Horton – Fish Tank, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher,) who, upon purchasing their first home, had no idea they were moving in next door to the ‘neighbours from hell.’ The disturbing sounds they hear through the wall – arguments, screams, and what sounds like violence, soon become daily intrusions and they suspect a child is being mistreated.

After consulting friends, Gemma and Richard start an evidence blog to document the problems and they soon come to believe that one child in particular could be being abused. Whilst Richard is reluctant to get involved or cause trouble with the neighbours, Gemma is convinced they could be living next door to another Baby P case and they have a moral duty to investigate. Frustrated by the apparent lack of intervention by the authorities, they turn to increasingly elaborate forms of surveillance to find out what is happening behind closed doors. But is their increasingly intrusive invasion of their neighbours privacy really morally justified? Or are Richard and Gemma actually the ‘neighbours from hell’?

Channel 4 Head of Documentaries Nick Mirsky said, “The Raw team have created a tense, gripping drama that could play out behind the curtains of almost any home in Britain. The People Next Door is terrifying relatable – and speaks loudly to the increasing mistrust many Britons have about what might be happening on their own doorstep.”

Executive Producer Richard Bond told us, “We are delighted that Channel 4 have let us make another experimental drama and we hope the audience find it both riveting and thought provoking in equal measure"

We have seen the first three episode and we can assure you we do!