Guildford Children Wanted for New BBC Series

Published on: 3 Jun, 2026
Updated on: 3 Jun, 2026

Five Mile Films – “Will You Be My Friend” BBC series

By Isabelle Trubshaw

An award-winning BBC production house is currently casting children in Guildford for an upcoming series exploring the challenge of making new friends in an increasingly digitalised world.

The new six-part series, “Will you be my friend” is produced by Five Mile Films and follows the transformative journey of children aged 5-8 as they build the social confidence needed to make friends.

The series was inspired by recent research into the impact of the pandemic on early childhood development, which revealed the drastic decline in the emotional and social capabilities of young children. Data shows that 42% of young people now find friendships and social life to be a daily worry.

Emma Loach, The Interim Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, explained that modern connection feels more fragile than ever, highlighting the importance of the new programme.

“In a world that can feel increasingly disconnected, this series shows that the simplest gestures – a smile, a shared joke, a tentative ‘will you be my friend?’ – still have the power to change everything,” she said.

Filming will take place in July and August. Each child will spend three half-days in “The Friendship Centre”, where a team of psychologists provide specific techniques to help the children build social skills.

Each child will later be sensitively matched on a playdate with a potential new friend from their local area, with producers following their progress over six weeks to see the outcomes of the programme in their normal school and home environments.

The ultimate goal for the series is not only to help the children make their first friend, but to invite audiences to take a closer look at the art of making connections.

A spokesperson from Five Mile Films said: “We know that for families in Guildford, and indeed, the rest of the UK, childhood friendships are really significant. Every single viewer will be able to see themselves through the eyes of our young cast and may even come away with a little inspiration for their own friendships.”

By casting a diverse range of children – be they “shy loud, sensitive, quirky, anxious” – Five Mile Films hope the show will speak to everyone, including adults who struggle to form new connections.

“Watching children put themselves out there to form new connections and learn new social skills is incredibly moving,” the spokesperson added. “These moments might look small, but the kids are doing something most adults are too scared to do, and that effect is enormous.”

Five Mile Films is made up of the award-winning producers behind Channel 4’s The Dog House, alongside one of the BAFTA-winning producers of First Dates.

While no air date has been announced, it is confirmed that the programme will be released on BBC One and iPlayer.

If your child will be aged 5–8 between 20 July and 23 August 2026 and you’re available during this period, please apply below to find out more: https://bemyfriend.tv