A new ABC TV series set in Newcastle and London will go to air on Wednesday night.
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Sarah Kendall, who grew up in Merewether, is the creator and writer of the six-episode series, titled Frayed.
She also plays the main character, Sammy Cooper.
Set in 1989, the dark comedy follows the journey of a wealthy London housewife who is forced to return home to Newcastle when her husband dies in a drug-fuelled mishap with a prostitute.
Kendall, 43, left Newcastle at age 18. She's lived in London for 19 years.
The series has autobiographical elements, but Kendall - who's also a stand-up comedian - insists her English husband is alive and well and steers clear of drugs and prostitutes.
She said the world of Frayed was "the world of my childhood - Newcastle in the 1980s".
The town she came of age in was marked by "steelworks closing down, high unemployment and drug problems".
The long stretches of beautiful coastline were lined with weatherboard shacks, old miners' cottages and public housing.
The internet and globalisation were yet to arrive.
"It was a narrow world of quiet streets and corner shops, where everyone knew each other," she said.
She wanted the town in the show to have "that real old world feel where everybody knew each other".
Back in Newcastle to promote the show, Kendall observed that "crime is down, employment is up and the cafes and restaurants are world class".
Despite this, Kendall said Newcastle "hasn't changed that much, if I'm honest".
"There's definitely more money, McMansions and big four-wheel drives," she said.
The setting of Newcastle reflects the depths of the story - the light and dark of comedy and drama.
"What I like about Newcastle is it's very beautiful, but it's also a bit of an eyesore at the same time," she said.
"It is stunning, but you do have the skeletons of industry dotted right next to these golden beaches.
"I can't think of anywhere else in the world like that."
One of the show's themes is the notion of class.
Sarah finds obnoxious people seeking status to be fascinating. She wonders what drives them.
"I really like characters that are desperados. That's my famous comedy archetype," she said.
Her character Sammy - who changed her name to Simone in London - is "desperate to be upper class".
"This is a person who's all about status, wealth and impressing people," she said.
"She tries to be high status, control everybody and fails abysmally."
Frayed airs at 9.10pm on Wednesday.