Shane Meadows is still in touch with the 'This Is England' cast.

The 50-year-old director was at the helm of the 2006 drama film that was set in the 1980s and starred Thomas Turgoose as a troubled 12-year-old who joins a gang of skinheads and admitted that almost 20 years later, he has maintained a connection with the cast - which also included the likes of Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, and Vicky McClure - that he hopes will last forever as he claimed that making a film is like being a kid on their school holiday.

He told The Observer: "'This Is England’'s cast are a proper gang. They were kids when we made the first film. Now I’m going to their weddings and their kids’ christenings. The connection hasn’t faded. Hopefully it will last a lifetime. Films are like school holidays. Summer holidays are special when you’re a kid. Whoever you were in July, somehow you’re a different person by September. Making a film is like that as an adult."

Meanwhile, Shane went on to add that his new drama series 'The Gallows Pole' - which is based on the book by Ben Myer - may be set in the 1760s but feels "all too revelant" to modern times with communities facing the "scariest" time he can remember.

He said: "'The Gallows Pole', is set in the 1760s but feels all too relevant. Communities were forgotten, people were struggling on the breadline, driven to do desperate things. My wife’s a nutritionist and works with a local food bank. That hardship has returned over the past year. You can’t see the bottom of the pit. It’s as scary a time as I can remember.