Youth clubs stop boys and girls turning to crime, says actress Ashley Jensen

 
Plea: Actress Ashley Jensen
22 April 2013

Actress Ashley Jensen today made an impassioned plea about the importance of youth clubs in keeping youngsters out of trouble.

The Extras star spoke out before tonight’s premiere in Leicester Square of her new film All Stars, in which she plays Gina, a youth club manager who helps teenagers stage a show to save their community centre from closure.

Jensen, 43, who also appeared in the US hit series Ugly Betty, said the film was “really delightful and charming, a real feelgood film”, but that there was also “a poignant, positive message”.

“Places like this are so vital within a community,” she said. “They’re almost preventative, stopping people getting into crime. It’s a place where kids can be themselves. And there are wonderful people running these places, grafting away and not being honoured. But what they’re doing is so important.”

The film was created for Theo Stevenson, 15, and Akai Osei, 14, of the Streetdance films, who became friends during the filming of Horrid Henry.

Allan Niblo, of Vertigo Films in Kentish Town, said All Stars — shot in London — was made because it was rare for youngsters to appear in a fun, urban film. “I hope the next generation of film-makers can grow up with British films and be inspired by that.”

Debut director Ben Gregor, 39, said: “Lots of kids’ movies are quite serious. I wanted to put a bit of heart into dance and have a bit of fun.” However, in one scene, Gina rails against austerity cuts, saying: “We can’t let money dictate the fate of our children.”

Theo, who lives near Chelmsford, Essex, said he attended a theatre club when he was younger, “but I can see how some people grow up with nothing”.

All Stars will be released on May 3.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in