At Don’t Panic, we believe the most powerful stories don’t just make people feel - they make people act. This Christmas, we’ve partnered once again with housing and homelessness charity Shelter to create Earworm - a film that captures the harsh reality of life in temporary accommodation, and the resilience of those forced to live it.
The idea behind “Earworm”
Every Christmas, thousands of families across the UK face a reality most of us can’t imagine: waking up without a safe, permanent place to call home. Shelter’s latest data shows a record 84,240 families will be living in temporary accommodation this year — from cramped B&Bs to shared hostel rooms, often with children sleeping, studying, and growing up in one space.
Earworm brings this reality to life through a deceptively simple idea: a song stuck in your head. We follow a charming schoolboy joyfully humming Bonnie Tyler’s iconic “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, unaware of the heartbreak behind it. The gut-punch comes when we learn where he picked it up - the hold music his mother listens to endlessly while trying to reach the housing service.
The tune that starts as joy becomes the sound of frustration and helplessness - an emotional truth that thousands of families know too well.
Our creative approach
Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey and choreographed by Ashley Wallen, the film combines music, performance, and raw emotion in a way only Gracey could. The boy’s untrained singing and improvised dance moves give the story a human, relatable core, one that reflects real families’ experiences Shelter encounters every day.
Working closely with Shelter, we spoke to parents and children with lived experience of temporary accommodation to ensure every beat of the story felt true. The result is a film that holds both pain and hope in equal measure - showing that even in impossible circumstances, love and determination endure.
Why it matters
As Shelter’s Mairi MacRae, Director of Campaigns and Policy, explains:
“With genuinely affordable social homes in short supply, families often face months if not years in cramped, insecure temporary accommodation. No family should face homelessness alone.”
For Shelter, Earworm is more than a Christmas advert. It’s a rallying cry - a reminder that behind every statistic is a child, a parent, a story. And that home, as Shelter says, is everything.
Five years strong
Earworm marks the fifth consecutive Christmas collaboration between Don’t Panic and Shelter. Each campaign has pushed creative boundaries to humanise the housing crisis, drive empathy, and ultimately inspire support. This year’s film continues that legacy, proving once again that powerful storytelling can drive real-world change.
How to Support
Donate to Shelter’s Winter Appeal: www.shelter.org.uk/winterappeal