Channel 4's Ed Stafford opens up about gun and machete being pulled on him while filming 60 Days On The Estates

Virgin Radio

23 May 2023, 15:29

Former British Army Captain and adventurer Ed Stafford has shared a terrifying experience while filming 60 Days On The Estates which involved a gun and a machete being pulled on him — he was then forced to stop and flee for his own safety.

The 47-year-old was caught up in the frightening saga while filming his London documentary series in Tottenham and interviewing a man in an alley in a housing estate, accompanied by just a small crew.

He told The Sun's TV Mag: "We were up a dead end, a quiet dark alley. The guy was showing me a knife and gun.

"We were having a conversation and suddenly there's a machete. Things just felt like they were escalating a little bit so I decided I needed the space to assess.

"Sometimes you actually find it quite difficult to think because you're right in the middle of a situation.

"I beat myself up a bit about that, but then again it hammers it home - you hear about the shootings and stabbings but actually seeing the gun first hand it's like: 'Well, okay, that's what he's carrying in order to protect himself because he's mixing in certain circles.'"

Fronting the three-part series, Ed has also visited estates in Birmingham and Glasgow to investigate life impacted by drug use, crime and poverty.

He said: "Birmingham was the place that really took me by surprise. That was the most shocking of the three episodes.

"I didn't know how quick young people are to go for knives or even machetes these days. 

"I met a group of boys who were all wearing hoodies and face masks, and I somewhat comically said: 'Do you guys ever get into fistfights? Do you not need to train or anything like that?' 

"They just laughed at me and said: 'Oi, grandad.'

"It's not funny but they would go straight for a knife. Birmingham is not very different from Leicester, where I grew up, but it wasn't like that when we were kids.

"I'm not squeaky clean, I used to get into fights and all sorts of things, but I was never worried about being knifed."

Speaking about the upcoming episodes, he said: "Before I started filming this series, all I really knew about council estates were stories I read in the media about gangs, crime and drugs.

"I wanted to go beyond the negative headlines and stereotypes to find out what’s really happening on housing estates today and the challenges people are facing.

"This series has been a real eye-opener for me."

60 Days on the Estates airs Sunday, May 28 at 9pm on Channel 4.

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