FIFTEEN years ago, a film crew spent 12 months documenting the lives of residents from a Stirling council estate, the Raploch.

The observational documentary was the first programme of its kind, paving the way for shows such as The Scheme which went on to spawn a new era of so-called poverty porn.

Now, some of those whose lives featured in the original Raploch Stories will be revisited.

The film-makers, Douglas Campbell and Alistair Scott, and those who appear on screen hope the new documentary will show a sense of community persists in the area.

Steven McGowan was first shown in the programme as a single father of two children, Jerrylee and Dylan, struggling with a drug addiction.

Now drug-free for the first time since he was 14, he is spearheading the local addiction recovery support group, and the programme sees him reunite with his children after a period of estrangement.

He said: “Raploch Stories has been a good experience, but for a long time I wished I’d never done it. Jerrylee and Dylan suffered because of it, they got a hard time at school.

“But they have come so far and are doing so well, it was them who encouraged me to do it. I’m happy this time because we are a success story.”

The area has undergone a major regeneration since the show first aired, with new housing and a community campus including two local primary schools, a health centre and a sports hall.

Ashley Cameron has taken part in filming at ages 10, 16 and 27. In the first programme, she was seen taking the lead role in Jack and the Beanstalk, her school play.

But looking back 15 years, she reminisces that as a child in the care system at that time, she was stealing from other pupils' packed lunches at break time.

“The way I was presented in that documentary was as a lost little girl, and now I know, that the only way I knew how to deal with it was to be loud,” she said.

She is now a Labour party member, a campaigner for improving the care system, and an honours student at Stirling University.

She said she reflected on what would be achieved, not only for her but for other people, by taking part in the programme again.

“Alistair and Douglas have always put us first, focusing on us as people and not on the poverty we lived in,” she said. “I felt I owed it to my past and to the community to show that people’s lives can change.

“I want to show councillors, MPs, MSPs and policy advisors that unassuming places like the Raploch have that sense of community that areas all over Scotland have lost.

“After neglect in the past and cuts to local services, the area is benefitting – but it’s not happening fast enough or big enough.”

Co-producers, Douglas Campbell and Alistair Scott said they make every effort to cover the whole range of life in their story-telling.

“We were heavily criticised in the first series for approaching the subjects with ‘rose-tinted-glasses’.

We found ourselves thinking, do people not like good, positive stories?

“Our aim has always been to reflect on real people’s stories in a sympathetic way. When we revisited the subjects in 2007 it wasn’t a particularly strong programme but this time, it is truly reflective of life."

When asked why not all participants were willing to take part again, they said: “We couldn’t get everybody, no.

“In 2017 people are more vulnerable to social media and there’s a lot more to consider. Some people had reservations and needed persuasion and reassurance from us.

“Any form of TV is exploitation, you’re using people’s lives or their stories, but we are always completely transparent.”

Raploch: Where Are They Now? will be aired at 9pm on BBC 2 on Monday.