Overview
- The special episode, broadcast on November 10 and now on ITVX, charts Bear’s 100-day absence through a self-contained narrative.
- It depicts coercion into unpaid work and degrading living conditions without wages or basic freedoms, reflecting patterns described by anti-trafficking experts.
- On‑set advisors from The Salvation Army worked with the team to shape authentic details about grooming, debt control and isolation.
- Coverage cites Home Office data showing 19,125 potential modern-slavery victims at the end of 2024, with 23% identified as British nationals.
- The storyline intersects with ongoing plots about youth exploitation through County Lines, and viewers widely described the episode as harrowing and heartfelt.