Terry on the Fence

11-year-old Terry runs away from home and is drawn into a gang of bullies, in a gritty Children's Film Foundation drama.

When 11-year-old Terry runs away from home he only intends to put the wind up his parents. But a gang of older bullies, led by the tough Les, soon draw him into their daunting world of break-ins and stolen goods.

Based on a book by author Bernard Ashley, Terry on the Fence goes far beyond the concept of goodies and baddies, to the ambiguity at the heart of Terry's moral dilemma. One of the last films made by the Children's Film Foundation (by now the Children's Film and Television Foundation), Terry on the Fence is a rougher edged example of the organisation’s output, featuring a gritty depiction of Terry’s disadvantaged home life and the grim atmosphere suggested by its pre-regeneration docklands location work.