'I’m obsessed with bar livestreams. All the drama of a night out - from my sofa'

With her children sound asleep, Katie curls up on the sofa downstairs - her phone in one hand and a drink in the other.

"Who needs to go out on a Friday night anymore, when you can sit at home, have a glass of wine and watch all the drama unfold?"

But it's not The Traitors or Bridgerton she's watching - it's a livestream of people drinking at a small bar more than 300 miles (480km) from where she lives.

The 24-year-old from Yeovil regularly tunes into the feed from Morgan's Arcade Bar in Carlisle - despite never having been there or anywhere near.

What hooks Katie in is seeing different people come and go: the women enjoying a work party, the couple singing along with the musician, the young lad trying to chat up a girl at the bar.

"I'm a big fan of EastEnders, but obviously this is real life," says Katie. "I was just comparing each person I saw to my friends… [there] was just that realism."

The comments section of the TikTok Live lights up with words of encouragement for the lad, red-faced with nerves, trying to rizz the girl.

What makes it funny, Katie says, is seeing the girl's friend hovering in the background, seemingly annoyed at how long the pair's conversation is taking.

"[It] really made me laugh because I've been in that situation before with my friends."

Katie watches the two leave. Perhaps they're an item now?

She thinks seeing these genuine human interactions is what makes people so emotionally invested in livestreams like this one, which are often recommended to Katie and other users on the TikTok app.

On some nights Morgan's Arcade Bar, which can only fit around 60 people in it, has up to 5,000 viewers on its livestream at any one time. But like other bar streams, it has been subject to bans and restrictions for reasons they don't quite understand.

Bar owner Morgan Taylor has been streaming for nearly nine months. He noticed a huge rise in viewers over Christmas, then a few weeks ago his account was deleted.

Apart from a generic message telling him he had breached community guidelines, Morgan wasn't told specifically why he was banned.

Was it the bar mats with a beer brand printed on them? Or people holding drinks while on camera? Morgan hasn't been told.

Neither was it explained why his account was restored a week later after he wrote a letter to TikTok appealing the decision.

"There was no correspondence from them," Morgan says. "I was happy to get it back because I'm enjoying these livestreams."

So are his customers. Patrons often pose for the camera - which is perched behind the bar next to a bottle of vodka - for their friends watching at home.

The comments section has become a community, Morgan says, with regular watchers chatting to each other throughout the stream; which usually starts around 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

A few have even volunteered to help Morgan moderate the comments. They remove nasty remarks about people on camera and mute or block persistent offenders.

If you don't match the vibe, you're out, says Steph, 34, who helps moderate comments on another livestream - at Liverpool bar, Woody's.

From her home in Belfast, Steph's a regular watcher of the bar's stream, known for its karaoke.

"We keep it friendly and welcoming," Steph says. "Occasionally the odd numpty tries to ruin the vibe," she adds - but they are quickly kicked off the stream.

The mother-of-two says the sense of community in the stream's comment section - which she calls her "TikTok family" - has helped her cope with the turmoil of life.

"It was recently the anniversary of my sister's passing," Steph says, "and [the DJ] went out of his way to play her funeral song for me."

Andy James, one of the DJs at Woody's, says the streams began less than six months ago, but viewing numbers picked up hugely just before Christmas. The bar goes live daily and has as many as 1,500 viewers at any time.

Andy says the Scouse night out is watched around the world by people from the US, Canada, France and the Canary Islands.

"With Woody's, it's all walks of life," he says. "Let's say a song comes on - Zombie by The Cranberries - and everyone is singing along, everyone. There's no ego - just everyone chilling, having a good time."

He says although their account hasn't been subject to bans or deletions in the same way as Morgan's Arcade Bar, they do sometimes get restrictions placed on them by TikTok.

It means their livestream does not reach the app's For You landing page as often as it ordinarily would - and so fewer people see it.

TikTok says their community guidelines are clear.

"We don't allow trading, marketing, or providing access to regulated or high-risk goods and services.

"For certain products like alcohol, we allow some content, but may apply restrictions to reduce potential risks. On Live, our treatment of this type of content may be different."

Gemma Duxbury of Forbes Solicitors specialises in data protection. She says the legal guidance on streaming in places like bars and clubs isn't yet completely clear because it's still relatively new - in contrast to the rules around club photography which are well-established.

She says having signs informing patrons they are on camera is a good idea.

Morgan is considering getting some signs made showing passers-by that his bar is popular on TikTok. Woody's has a big sticker on the floor of the bar telling people a livestream is taking place.

"For the bar owner and the DJ, the last thing you want to do is go round the room getting everybody's signature saying, 'I give my consent to you [filming] this,'" says Duxbury. "But they really need to make people aware that it's being done."

Morgan says he tells people who order a drink at the bar to smile for the camera.

Many already know about the stream, he says, but occasionally a patron does ask not to be filmed. Morgan will then turn the camera away from them while they're being served.

Back in Yeovil, Katie says that as much as she enjoys watching Morgan's Arcade Bar being livestreamed, she'd be mortified if she was filmed at her local.

"I come from a very small town so everybody knows everybody," she explains. "There's always an awkward interaction with an ex, or you see a girl from school that you don't like."

Unlike her, none of Katie's friends have children so Morgan's livestream helps her feel less excluded at weekends when everyone else is going out.

At some point though Katie hopes to take a trip to Carlisle, and to visit Morgan's bar in real life.

"I feel like I have to now," she says, "just to add to the plot."