Ladder to Somewhere

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BBC Radio 4 FM

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Ladder to Somewhere: Looking For a Place

Looking For a Place

BBC Radio 4 - Ladder to Somewhere, Looking For a Place

One woman's inspiring story of how she survived childhood deprivation and gang culture.

Liza Ward revisits her youth in 1990s Manchester to reveal how her life was blighted by the effects of poverty and gang crime – and how she found a way to overcome them.

Following her award-winning 2019 series Ladder to Nowhere, Liza Ward continues the dramatic story of how she escaped from a life of poverty, social chaos and gang crime. 

Liza became a mum at 13, spent time in the care system, and was forced to cut ties with her alcoholic mother. She was later drawn into Manchester’s gang culture,  had a relationship with a gun dealer and almost became a casualty of gang crime herself. Through it all, she fought to get herself the education that she knew would offer her the possibility of a better life.

Liza escaped that world, but many people she knew did not. Their lives were damaged beyond repair. They became lost souls who gave up on society, and eventually on themselves. In this series, Liza revisits that time, to see if she can pinpoint the reasons why she was able to break free while others remained trapped. In five themed episodes, each addressing a major social issue of our time, she recalls the turning points in her life. Liza talks to family and friends whose love and support helped her through, and reconnects with teachers and employers who encouraged and mentored her. Through their honest and often uplifting testimony we get a vivid portrait of a family, a city, and a working-class culture in decline.

As Manchester goes through a huge property boom, Liza looks back to the 1990s, when finding a safe place to live meant pounding the streets for days on end. Forced to move when she became caught up in gang violence, Liza ended up on an estate where she witnessed at first hand the negative effects of high-intensity urban housing.

Producer: Hugh Costello
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Factual: Life Stories

Liza Ward revisits her youth in 1990s Manchester to reveal how her life was blighted by the effects of poverty and gang crime - and how she found a way to overcome them.

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Ladder to Somewhere

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