A sketch show for the YouTube generation. Three friends, a wall and a camera: what more do you need?

For the more optimistic, platforms like YouTube promised a complete democratisation of entertainment – a free distribution network for budding filmmakers, comedians, or, as they would all come to be known, ‘content creators’.

In reality, the delivery of this promise has been warped by algorithms and the sheer volume of content being created. Amongst all this, standing out can be hard and getting blessed by the algorithm is almost impossible. However, stretching back the start of the 2010s, there are many stories of this ideal being realised – and Mandem On The Wall is one of them.

Written by, co-directed by and starring ‘The Mandem’ aka Yungah Baker (Dee Kartier), Failia (Joivan Wade) and Yungah Baby Tiny Winie (Percelle Ascott), the show's structure is simple: three young friends sit on a wall and try and one-up each other with stories of their ‘roadman’ credentials. The jokes come fast, the characters are ridiculous and the show was a hit with the young-teen demographic who shape so much of what takes off online.

The trio were soon picked up to star in teen comedy Youngers on E4 and two of the mandem, Joivan Wade and Percelle Ascott, developed their platform Wall of Entertainment into a production company and talent management firm that has launched careers across online video and television.