Andy McNab, the ex-SAS Bravo Two Zero author returns to his Peckham roots - Londoner #26
Best-selling author and ex-SAS sergeant Andy McNab is a Londoner through and through. At just two weeks old, he was abandoned at Guy’s Hospital and adopted by a family in Peckham and spent his childhood living in South London.
The new film follows Andy as he revisits the London of his past. He has his hair cut at a local barber shop, walks around the market and finally ends up on Nunhead Reservoir.
This Peckham is a different place to the one he left to join the forces, and makes Andy consider the city’s changing face. Like Peckham, Andy’s identity has transformed throughout his life. He took the name of his adopted family, changed his name again when he became an author, and now lives a life far removed from his life he was born into. Andy talks about his feelings about the city he knows and loves.
1000 LONDONERS
This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a five-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view.
Twitter: @1000_londoners
1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit
Transcript:
Short back rip round today mate.
Nobody is going to believe that I cut Andy McNabs hair. Flippin heck.
You must be thinking, is that it? Is that it? Expect youd be about 7 foot tall or something.
The reason Ive end up being called Andy McNab was quite simply that there was symmetry in the name and it fit quite nice on the cover of Bravo Two Zero. The problem Ive got is because of the stuff that I used to do in Northern Ireland, in fact I was over there last year, last October, doing stuff for the police charities over there. And even then I got two death threats, thats the reason why I dont show my face. One of the good things of, you know, being not so in the public domain is that you can get on public transport. You know, get on the buses, get on the tube. And you get around, quite fast. You know, I quite like the oyster card, its alright.
Youre mum used to do cleaning?
When I got left at Guys Hospital as a baby, I was only a couple of days old so you know, Ive never actively tried to find out who my parents were. Cause as far as I was concerned, exactly the same as my older brother, thats who my parents are.
You must have a bit of Greek in you Andy, Im telling you. Youve got to, youve absolutely got to.
Lets do that, yep.
Andy?
Brilliant Steve, thanks very much mate. Have a lovely time in Cyprus. See you.
When I got out of the military and then I started using, you know, the pseudonym for, you know, Andy McNab. It was quite easy to adapt into that persona. Because it was only going to be, just one book. One of the good things about London is that it constantly reinvents itself.The area is, sort of, rebuilding. Its regenerating and it really just has to happen. Especially here from, I dont know about 8 years old. 8 or 9. And constantly moving around. Say, we was on this road and then we moved down to another place called Oglanda. We lived in Catford for a while, then we come back. It was all over the place.
Cheers mate, and you.
Being a kid round here was actually.was always breaking in or trying to nick something.
Fantastic.
If I could say anything to 9 and 10, 11 year old Andy - stay at school, get that education. Cause every time you learn something, you get a bit of power. Thats what this citys all about. Get out there and compete. Getting into film, getting into book, all those sort of thing has been a constant change for me. And its a bit like what were seeing here, you know, is constant change.
The new film follows Andy as he revisits the London of his past. He has his hair cut at a local barber shop, walks around the market and finally ends up on Nunhead Reservoir.
This Peckham is a different place to the one he left to join the forces, and makes Andy consider the city’s changing face. Like Peckham, Andy’s identity has transformed throughout his life. He took the name of his adopted family, changed his name again when he became an author, and now lives a life far removed from his life he was born into. Andy talks about his feelings about the city he knows and loves.
1000 LONDONERS
This film is part of 1000 Londoners, a five-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it. The profile contains a 3 minute film that gives an insight into the life of the Londoner, as well as their personal photos of London and some answers to crucial questions about their views on London life. Over the course of the project we aim to reveal as many facets of the capital as possible, seeing city life from 1000 points of view.
Twitter: @1000_londoners
1000 Londoners is produced by South London based film production company and social enterprise, Chocolate Films. The filmmakers from Chocolate Films will be both producing the films and providing opportunities to young people and community groups to make their own short documentaries, which will contribute to the 1000 films. Visit
Transcript:
Short back rip round today mate.
Nobody is going to believe that I cut Andy McNabs hair. Flippin heck.
You must be thinking, is that it? Is that it? Expect youd be about 7 foot tall or something.
The reason Ive end up being called Andy McNab was quite simply that there was symmetry in the name and it fit quite nice on the cover of Bravo Two Zero. The problem Ive got is because of the stuff that I used to do in Northern Ireland, in fact I was over there last year, last October, doing stuff for the police charities over there. And even then I got two death threats, thats the reason why I dont show my face. One of the good things of, you know, being not so in the public domain is that you can get on public transport. You know, get on the buses, get on the tube. And you get around, quite fast. You know, I quite like the oyster card, its alright.
Youre mum used to do cleaning?
When I got left at Guys Hospital as a baby, I was only a couple of days old so you know, Ive never actively tried to find out who my parents were. Cause as far as I was concerned, exactly the same as my older brother, thats who my parents are.
You must have a bit of Greek in you Andy, Im telling you. Youve got to, youve absolutely got to.
Lets do that, yep.
Andy?
Brilliant Steve, thanks very much mate. Have a lovely time in Cyprus. See you.
When I got out of the military and then I started using, you know, the pseudonym for, you know, Andy McNab. It was quite easy to adapt into that persona. Because it was only going to be, just one book. One of the good things about London is that it constantly reinvents itself.The area is, sort of, rebuilding. Its regenerating and it really just has to happen. Especially here from, I dont know about 8 years old. 8 or 9. And constantly moving around. Say, we was on this road and then we moved down to another place called Oglanda. We lived in Catford for a while, then we come back. It was all over the place.
Cheers mate, and you.
Being a kid round here was actually.was always breaking in or trying to nick something.
Fantastic.
If I could say anything to 9 and 10, 11 year old Andy - stay at school, get that education. Cause every time you learn something, you get a bit of power. Thats what this citys all about. Get out there and compete. Getting into film, getting into book, all those sort of thing has been a constant change for me. And its a bit like what were seeing here, you know, is constant change.
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