On Benefits - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
26 Kids and Claiming
A man with 11 children has been signing on for ten years.
On the Yorkshire Dole
Steve thinks his tattoos are stopping him finding a job.
Benefit Beauty Queens
People on benefits who believe fame is around the corner.
Got Talent?
Emma doesn't let her budget stop her from entering pageants.
Episode 5
Documentary about people living on benefits in Portsmouth.
Episode 6
25-stone Blossom is due to have exploratory surgery.
Episode 7
Rob and Roxanne have been sent an eviction notice.
Episode 8
Young couple Nathan and Kim struggle to afford to eat.
Episode 9
Two couples trying to have the perfect wedding on benefits.
Episode 10
Brits trying to live on the dole and care for their pets.
Episode 11
Benefits Special: 18 Kids and Claiming
Documentary series looking at people trying to get by on benefits, including Maria who has five children with five different dads, and Kate in Weymouth who gets almost £30,000 a year in benefits for her and her seven kids.
On Benefits: Bargain Barbie and Desperate Dole Claimants
Documentary series. Sammy has to spend her reduced benefits wisely to cater for her family. Simone is hoping to forge a career as a model. Brian is struggling to live on just £46 a week after ill health. Ex-con Anthony's benefits have been slashed twice in the last year.
Episode 14
Documentary series. Featuring the stories of four island-living people on benefits who feel cut off from society.
Episode 15
Documentary about people living on benefits. Newlyweds Rob and Roxanne have been sent an eviction notice for rent arrears. Anne-Marie and Shaun need to qualify for disability benefits to add to their household budget. Shelley downsized to avoid the bedroom tax, but is not happy with the outcome.
Episode 16
Documentary about people living on benefits. Chantelle spends her day hanging out with her friends as they try to make their benefits stretch. Jayne is working and claims less ú10 in benefits. Lee from Tredegar bemoans the lack of industry and opportunity in the Valleys. Nigel had a successful business but lost everything. He now has a place to call home, but has very little else to his name.
Episode 17
Lisa spent seven years in prison for smuggling cocaine, and has been unemployed and on benefits ever since. James is dyslexic and surviving on only £13k a year. Jai quit his job to move to the Scottish highlands, but has found something that doesn't cost any of his benefit money.
Bargain Bride on Benefits
Documentary about people living on benefits. Yvonne and David are planning their dream wedding despite only earning in a year the same amount as the cost of the average UK wedding.
Episode 19
Documentary about people living on benefits. Rob has been on the dole for 20 years, until a freak accident offers him some compensation cash. Michelle and Thomas moved to Leeds, pushing for their children to have a better future than themselves. Kyle and Leisha live in Whitby, but the money they receive is only enough to feed them for five days out of the week. Alex blew thousands on record decks, but says that Yorkshire's lack of opportunity is holding him back from becoming a DJ.
Episode 20
Documentary series about people living on benefits. In Whitby, a family of four's problems include Tourette's, an autistic child and possibly another on the way. In Doncaster, a lady with cerebral palsy is an ardent campaigner for animal rights despite needing round-the-clock care. In Barnsley, an arthritic hoarder struggles to survive on benefits despite making her own washing powder, cat litter and growing her own tobacco.
UK's Most Hated Woman?
The 'Lotto Gran' who claimed to win the National Lottery.
Desperately Seeking Stardom
Documentary series about people living on benefits. Debra hopes that a part in a movie will be her ticket off benefits. Anthony is afraid that his epilepsy puts off potential employers. Anne Marie cannot afford day trips for her granddaughter on £350 a week. Steven uses his benefits to feed others less fortunate than himself.
Costa Del Dole
Documentary series about people living on benefits. Gary moved to Jaywick to be with his partner Geoff, but it has left him unemployed for the first time since he was 16. After being made homeless, Caroline moved in with Heather, but their flat is now overcrowded. Gordon became a full-time carer for his mother in 2009, but he has not received any benefits money for months.
Living the High Life
Episode revisiting some of the people previously featured including the 'Millionaire Shoplifter', a former Big Brother contestant with stars in her eyes and Blossom in Brighton, whose weight was having a serious effect on her health.
Single and Skint
Documentary series about people living on benefits. 56-year-old Donna is about to try her hand at online dating after her desire for work got in the way of romance, 39-year-old Carl heads to a comic convention to find love, and despite receiving £9,000 a year in benefits 25-year-old single mum Jade refuses to date a guy without a job.
The Bargain Queen
Documentary series about people living on benefits. Sixty-year-old Avril is one of the long-term unemployed. Her nickname is the Bargain Queen because she spends much of her time at boot sales. Steve has just returned from Turkey and, at 56, is facing unemployment for the first time in his life. Transgender Jess finds job-seeking difficult while she is undergoing transitional medical treatment. Single parent and carer Tony is about to move in with his girlfriend and her son. Their benefits have been frozen pending reassessment.
Breadline Brummies
Documentary series about people living on benefits. Meet a single mum who needs income support to help feed her children, a young man hoping to find a job to pay off his debts, a former ASBO kid trying to put his criminal past behind him and a woman deemed fit for work, contrary to her doctor's opinion.
Cash-Strapped Couples
Documentary series about people living on welfare. Andy and Diane married three years ago when they were both working, however living on a severely reduced income has put a strain on their relationship. Suzanne and Derek are looking to move rather than pay bedroom tax on their four-bedroom home. Carl and Angie's benefits allowance is affected by his disability allowance and her wages from a part-time job. Stephan and Linda are deep in debt but spend ú12 a week feeding the homeless.
Breadline Brits
People who have served in the armed forces and now sign on.
And a Baby in the Way
Amy is a 20-year-old mum trying to get by on benefits.
The Compensation King
Rob has been on the dole for 20 years.
Famous and Claiming
Documentary revisiting people living on welfare.
Spend it Like Backham
The documentary revisits individuals featured in previous episodes to see how they have been getting on.
30 Stone and Claiming
The documenary catches up with people featured in preivious episodes.
Baked Bean King
Documentary series about people living on welfare.
Jaywick: Christmas on Benefits
Britains Benefits Blackspots
Stories of people getting by on benefits. Shaun is trying to fight the temptation to fall back into his criminal past and make a better future off the system. Leon has exhausted all the job opportunities in his area and must look further afield. Mark suffers from diabates, sciatica and angina, and has been begging the housing association to move him.
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