RESIDENTS in a neighbourhood made famous by a new romcom have revealed what life is really like there.
Rye Lane in Peckham, south London, has given its name to a new romcom starring David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah.
Described by its director Raine Allen-Miller as a "love letter to South London", the film traces two locals who connect over the course of one eventful day.
Posters for the film have gone up along real-life Rye Lane, which is lined with family businesses and chains like Primark and McDonald's.
Now locals have revealed what life is really like on the bustling South London street.
Some residents slammed the film's portrayal of Rye Lane Market as a ghost town with shuttered shop-fronts.
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Stallholder Patricia told MyLondon: "When they came inside here inside this shopping complex everywhere was dead, which doesn’t signify a good omen.
"If this shopping mall was supposed to have been a part of the story – the shopping mall should have been alive but it was like it was dead.
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"When they went to Brixton they showed parts of Brixton food and people moving around.
"You can see that here it’s lively here, but they portray it like it’s dead."
Lindon Martin, 64, who runs the Royal Maroon Herbs shop on Rye Lane, was more positive about the film's depiction of the area.
He said: "I had the privilege of not only seeing the film but watching them film shots around here in this indoor market.
"It was a full day filming inside here. They really captured the real life of Rye Lane.
"To a lot of people Peckham has a bad reputation, but now people can see the heart of Peckham is Rye Lane in the film Rye Lane.
"We are seeing changes that are driving the real local Peckham people out because things are not affordable for people to stay.
"When change happens to a community you have to involve the people who are there, you cannot bring changes to run the original people out."
It comes after a soap fan revealed what life is like in the neighbourhood where Walford would be in real life – and it's nothing like Albert Square.
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