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Private Notes
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.
This week’s episode showed the disruption caused by Romanian arrivals. Fourteen Romanians living in one house started a metal collection business. They rooted through everyone else’s bin bags looking for scrap and left a mess the council refused to clean up. Emotions were running high and we saw Fungi abusing a Romanian woman. It made distressing viewing, especially since last week he was more loveable rogue than bigot. Contrary to what its critics allege, though, the programme does not present people as simple stereotypes.
Episode three focuses on the children of the families on James Turner Street. The episode deals with Sam, whose son has been taken away from her because of her addiction to heroin. The programme also features Mark and Becky, a young couple struggling to raise their two young children. Children are seen swearing and misbehaving, while White Dee reprimands her son for losing his bicycle.
The fourth episode deals with ambition. White Dee's 15-year-old daughter wishes to follow a career as a gym instructor and undertakes work experience at a leisure centre. SB, an aspiring model who left her abusive partner has her children schooled at home, and finds work in a local takeaway. Fungi, whose electricity has been cut off, and has no contact with his children, experiences personal disappointment when a planned meeting with his son is cancelled by the boy's adoptive parents.
The final episode of the series sees the breakdown of the relationship between Hannah and her Zimbabwean partner, Simba who she leaves after he loses his benefits because he failed to renew his visa and starts drinking excessively. She is rehoused by the local authority, while he is left without an income because of his lapsed immigration status. Fungi goes for hospital tests after discovering a lump on his chest. He is relieved to learn it is not cancerous, but is told it is being aggravated by his lifestyle of drink and drugs. Information technology worker Ewan takes part in a cleanup initiative as the street prepares to enter a Britain in Bloom contest.
Following the immense reaction to Benefits Street from dozens of headlines to questions in parliament, this follow-up documentary gives the residents of James Turner Street the chance to discuss their experiences of being on benefits and their perspectives on the welfare system. The programme features a number of interviews with some of the key contributors to the series.
