We live on the real Top Boy estate…scenes were filmed in my BEDROOM and there were two huge upsides
RESIDENTS of the estate where Netflix’s Top Boy was filmed say they are proud the show made it famous – and have even made a few quid off the back of it.
Top Boy centres around the lives of two drug dealers in Hackney, East London, with two original series running from 2011 to 2013 on Channel 4.
Rapper Drake saved the hit show in 2017 and brought it over to Netflix.
The move saw the ‘Summerhouse Estate’ change postcode from Elephant and Castle up the road to the Samuda Estate on the Isle of Dogs for season three and four.
It is on this 505-dwelling development where protagonist Dushane, played by Ashley Walters, and his pals live amid a backdrop of gang violence.
Resident Nancy, 38, told The Sun her front door, kitchen and a bedroom was used for filming between September 2018 and January 2019 for the third season of the show.
Speaking ahead of the fifth series, which premieres September 13, the mum-of-three said: “It was Shelley’s house [played by Little Simz], Dushane’s girlfriend at the time.
“My boys tell their friends ‘my house is famous’ because Top Boy is filmed here.
“They took all my furniture out, they put leaf wallpaper all over the place, they redecorated it all and put it all back as it was after.
“They covered all the costs.
“They came three different times. I stayed with my mother in law in another part of the Isle of Dogs.
“I got up to £1000 per day to film, we used to watch them walk up and down, my boys even took part shouting during the riot scene.”
Nancy, who has lived on Samuda Estate most of her life and works in the kitchen of a local school, admitted Top Boy makes the estate appear “heavier” than it really is.
“You would think with Top Boy you’d never want to live on that estate but it’s not that bad”, she adds.
Zubair, manager at the estate’s Nisa newsagents, was proud his shop was used for just a small part of the show during the last series.
‘PAID ME £3000’
And he says the show has benefited him massively financially.
The 31-year-old said: “We were closed for three or four hours, we were told to stay in the store room while they were filming!
“We were paid between £2,000-£3,000 for just a couple of hours. They filmed around the back as well, we could see a few bits there.”
Zubair, who has been store manager for three years, told The Sun he is a massive fan of the show and is excited for the new season.
In a stairwell on another side of the estate, one resident of 20 years said the show brings “excitement” to his quant corner of London.
The man, who did not want to be named, told The Sun: “I’ve been here a long time.
“It’s fun and exciting watching all the filming and the crew.
They took all my furniture out, they put leaf wallpaper all over the place, they redecorated it all and put it all back as it was after
Samuda Estate resident Nancy
“They don’t bother us, I like trying to spot our houses in the show, they are very polite and give back to the estate.”
While the vast majority are happy with their estate’s role in the show, others are not so sure.
One resident rolled her eyes when The Sun asked her about the show.
She added: “It’s not that bad, a little bit noisy to be honest, but fine as we get a lot back.”
With the money earned from the show, estate managers One Housing pay for free days out for residents to places like Brighton, Chessington World of Adventures and LegoLand.
Nancy was also offered a Sign Language course among others.
One Housing was approached for comment.