Notting Hill residents to star in C4 docu-soap

A real-life soap opera capturing the weekly lives of residents in Notting Hill has been lined up by Channel 4 as it searches for new shows post Big Brother.

Notting Hill - made by executive producer Stephen Lambert (pictured) - will capture its subjects' lives as they happen and the broadcaster is expected to screen it later this year.

The eight programmes will feature around 10 'highly engaging members of the public, mostly in their twenties or thirties' who live close to each other.

Among the notable residents of Notting Hill - chosen for its cultural diversity - is Conservative Party leader David Cameron.

Episodes will be screened the week they are filmed so characters will be seen discussing the main issues and events of the week.

Stephen Lambert was behind TV hits such as Faking It and Wife Swap as former creative director of RDF Media, but now has new firm Studio Lambert.

He was also involved with the infamous film A Year With The Queen, which led to the departure of BBC One controller Peter Fincham in 2007.

Simon Dickson, Channel 4's deputy head of documentaries, said: "Notting Hill takes a fabulous cast of characters living in an iconic location and follows their lives in almost real-time."

Lambert said: "Channel 4 encouraged us to dream up something ambitious and risky.

"Most documentaries are filmed over several weeks and are edited over months. We are doing everything in a single week."