Benefits Street

Viewers are introduced to the residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham, where there is a high proportion of benefit claimants. Residents are seen committing crimes, such as benefit fraud, cannabis cultivation and shoplifting, with the programme including a demonstration of how to steal designer clothes and remove the security tags. Shoplifter Danny is returned to prison after breaching an anti-social behaviour order that excluded him from the city centre, while Fungi, another resident takes free magazines from a hotel lobby and sells them on the streets for £2.50. Smoggy, a reformed ex-convict sells 50p sachets of sugar and washing powder to raise money for himself. The street's sense of community is highlighted too, as White Dee—styled as the "mother" of the street because everyone turns to her for advice—offers Black Dee advice when she is threatened with eviction, and attempts to help Fungi to overcome his drug habit.

The controversial documentary following the lives of those heavily reliant on benefit payments returns for a second run. This time, the residents of Kingston Road on Stockton-on-Tees Tilery Estate are the focus, including mother-of-six Julie and her friend Sue, who set the world to rights from the doorstep, as well unemployed Lee, who has been denied a crisis loan and is relying on a food bank and his neighbours to eat. Meanwhile, the rebellious `king of kids', Maxwell, divides his time between exercising, taking drugs, and risking arrest by turning up late for his court appearance