Shane Meadows is still in touch with the 'This Is England' cast.

Shane Meadows is still in touch with the This Is England cast

Shane Meadows is still in touch with the This Is England cast

The 50-year-old director was at the helm of the 2006 drama film that was set in the 1980s and starred Thomas Turgoose as a troubled 12-year-old who joins a gang of skinheads and admitted that almost 20 years later, he has maintained a connection with the cast - which also included the likes of Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, and Vicky McClure - that he hopes will last forever as he claimed that making a film is like being a kid on their school holiday.

He told The Observer: "'This Is England’'s cast are a proper gang. They were kids when we made the first film. Now I’m going to their weddings and their kids’ christenings. The connection hasn’t faded. Hopefully it will last a lifetime. Films are like school holidays. Summer holidays are special when you’re a kid. Whoever you were in July, somehow you’re a different person by September. Making a film is like that as an adult."

Meanwhile, Shane went on to add that his new drama series 'The Gallows Pole' - which is based on the book by Ben Myer - may be set in the 1760s but feels "all too revelant" to modern times with communities facing the "scariest" time he can remember.

He said: "'The Gallows Pole', is set in the 1760s but feels all too relevant. Communities were forgotten, people were struggling on the breadline, driven to do desperate things. My wife’s a nutritionist and works with a local food bank. That hardship has returned over the past year. You can’t see the bottom of the pit. It’s as scary a time as I can remember.

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