Available to watch later this week, new ITVX teen drama Tell Me Everything is loosely based on writer Mark O'Sullivan's life growing up in Welwyn Garden City in the 1990s.

With the action now set in the 2020s, the series centres on Jonny Murphy, who lives with his family above a pub in Welwyn Garden City.

Filming took place on location in and around Welwyn Hatfield last year, as well as in Letchworth, Hertfordshire's first Garden City. 

Welwyn Hatfield Times: The cast of Tell Me Everything: Lauryn Ajufo as Neve, Spike Fearn as Louis, Callina Liang as Mei, Eden H. Davies as Jonny, Tessa Lucille as Regan, and Carla Woodcock as Zia.The cast of Tell Me Everything: Lauryn Ajufo as Neve, Spike Fearn as Louis, Callina Liang as Mei, Eden H. Davies as Jonny, Tessa Lucille as Regan, and Carla Woodcock as Zia. (Image: ITV)

Executive producers Camilla Campbell and Robert Wulff-Cochrane were excited about Tell Me Everything creator Mark O’Sullivan’s initial pitch.

Camilla said: "We’d wanted to work with Mark for a while. We really enjoyed Lee and Dean. We were really excited by Mark’s tone and his ability to be funny about really dark, personal tragedy.

"And he had the authority to do that because he had been through it. We felt that tone was perfect for a British show, which we hadn’t seen before with that subject matter so foregrounded in this way."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Eden H. Davies as Jonny and Clare Calbraith as Ann in Tell Me Everything. Eden H. Davies as Jonny and Clare Calbraith as Ann in Tell Me Everything. (Image: ITVX, DRAMA REPUBLIC)

Mark O'Sullivan's Tell Me Everything is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama about teens growing up in the 2020s with all the pressures that involves - including social media, mental health issues, drink, drugs and sex.

Robert added: "Mark’s personal story was that he lost his dad as a fairly young teenager and that triggered a mental health crisis for him.

"In the series, we explore the individual anxieties of this entire group of teens. There’s been a huge increase in mental health and anxiety issues in recent years, in unison with the explosion of tech and social media, and that feels like the big story for this generation."

Prior to establishing Noho Film and Television in 2012, Camilla and Robert headed up the drama commissioning team at Channel 4, where they commisioned Skins.

Robert explained: "Part of the excitement for us in making this show was that when Camilla and I started working together at Channel 4, E4 had recently been set up, which was specifically aimed at a younger audience, and we were able to commission shows like Skins, Misfits, and My Mad Fat Diary, that really spoke to a young British audience.

"Part of the joy of Tell Me Everything is it is set in Welwyn Garden City, as an ‘everyplace’ that represents the quirky oddness of this nation.

"With its slightly suburban landscape it felt like a truthful representation of what it feels like to be a teenager in this country. Where fun is just over the horizon, so instead you’ve got to make your own."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Eden H. Davies as Jonny in Tell Me Everything.Eden H. Davies as Jonny in Tell Me Everything. (Image: ITVX, DRAMA REPUBLIC)

Playing central character Jonny Murphy is Eden H. Davies in his first major TV role. Eden's self-tape audition was, "Jonny describing Welwyn Garden City - what it was like, a bit about the people".

Eden added: "This was one of the first scripts that I was really blown away by. It was so eloquently written and perfectly summed up so much."

Having gone to school in Chester, Eden now lives in Wrexham, Wales. 

"I don’t think there’s anywhere like Welwyn Garden City," he said. "Wrexham is very different. Welwyn Garden City is a polished version. That’s what’s brilliant about it.

"It is the most polished place on this earth but underneath are these problems for these people. I really love Wrexham. It’s simpler in the North. People say what they mean."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Tessa Lucille as Regan and Eden H. Davies as Jonny in ITVX's new teen drama Tell Me Everything.Tessa Lucille as Regan and Eden H. Davies as Jonny in ITVX's new teen drama Tell Me Everything. (Image: ITVX, DRAMA REPUBLIC)

From Bristol, Tell Me Everything co-star Tessa Lucille plays Regan in the series. So how does Welwyn Garden City compare to Bristol?

"They are quite different but they are similar in a way," said Tessa. "Welwyn Garden City is very green and it’s beautiful.

"Bristol does have some lovely parks but talking to Mark O’Sullivan he was like, ‘Well, it seems pretty but there is nothing to do’, which is the opposite in Bristol.

"There is always something happening in Bristol. There is something constantly going on."

 

Tell Me Everything is available to stream on ITVX from Thursday, December 8.