famous, rich and hungry for sport relief

[misstiredbuthappy]

Anybody watching ? I watched it last year realy hit a nerve with me.

blondes was it the Bank of Dave?

It's heart breaking. Christianity used to outlaw usury and sharia law still has very strict rules about money lending and rates of interest. It goes against basic human decency that this mechanism exists to transfer a steady flow of money from the most vulnerable to the least.

Absolutely.

It's why Shylock is such an iconoclastic character.

The wife of the lovely bouncer chap though - why can she not work? She is presentable, well spoken, clearly not stupid - she could get a job.

Only just starting to watch the first one and can I say how bloody awful that Rachel is!! Has she no idea at all about what it is like!

I grew up in poverty not as bad as some of these but there were moments where family had to feed us and clothe us. All why my mum and dad smoked. My dad was an arsehole though and my mum did her best with 3 small children. My dad drank money while my mum worked 3 jobs at one point.

What it did teach was to not get pregnant young, to get a career first, to not smoke and that nothing would get in the way of feeding my child. I'm extremely lucky in that I have a job, its okay paid, I have a house (mortgaged) however, I am a single parent and I would be totally screwed if I lost my job. Not least because I have a huge loan to pay for a conservatory and pay off credit card.

If I suddenly lost my job I'd be poor, in debt and with sky tele on a contract not that easy to cancel, mobile phone again on a contract so not able to cancel, I have a cat and a dog. Then I'd be just like those people on the tele so the only thing I can judge for is the smoking before food.

People's circumstances put them in poverty not necessarily bad choices at the moment my loan for a conservatory is adding value to my house but if I lost my job then some people would consider it a poor choice WTF!

Going to buy some extra items in my shopping today and donate to my local food bank

www.trusselltrust.org

I can't not.

Do you know the employment rates where the 'presentable wife' lives? Whether there's 42 people going for a single vacancy in the area or not?

Do you know whether or not the 'presentable wife' gas a hidden disability?

Without knowing the precise situation don't be so bloody simplistic.

For them to get unemployment benefit they have to be allying for jobs or it gets stopped.

Plus in some case working can make them even worse off by losing council tax, prescription benefits. Would you really go to work for minimum wage and lose benefits and be even worse off???

applying even

That's the one neverknowingly

He was really trying to help people

It was fascinating watching Rachel because I have never seem anyone use the word "I" and "me" so much in general conversation. She seemed to learn absolutely nothing from the experience and came across as a cold, self obsessed individual.

(How the hell it cost her £7 to make a pot of stew I will never know.)

Rachel has already given interviews in which she states that her participation in the show was a 'poverty safari'. Says it all, really.

Don't forget Rachel's "like animals" comment, expat.

Tbf, they must have been told to play up the "rich person not understanding why people are poor" part. You need the old "journey of discovery" narrative.

I think RJ is probably really like that anyway, so it's a bit hard to disentangle what is the narrative and what's just her.

Rachel's comments just befuddled me. Fancy thinking, let along admitting, that you don't have any empathy for people living a different lifestyle until you get to know a typical family.

What an interesting thread, I didn't even know this programme was on, going to watch now on I player

I know it's all a narrative played up by producers but Rachel Johnson came across like a twat and Jamie and Theo came off as quite nice people and not so judgemental and horrible

I agree with that Tacitus. I thought the blond man and the soapstar both seemed to think it was about them. The blond man meant well, but I don't think he had the maturity or social intelligence for the programme.

Gobby, I don't agree with a 'view'. My view is that life's I far and people go through some dreadful times (there but for the grace...), but I suppose I can't get my head around why anyone would pick fags or expensive Sky over food. It's not an essential and it breaks my heart to see people in dire straits but I don't get it. The people I have seen properly starving would be appalled that fags would even make the shopping list. It scarred me for life seeing that level of poverty.

I agree - those who exploit the vulnerable are scum. Payday and doorstep loans are just wrong.

Grrr phone!

Life's unfair is what I meant to say

I thought Jamie was wonderful and he helped Mohammed tremondously.

I agree ninja and I have also seen true poverty.

What horrifies me is just how much some of these people put fags over food. At which point will some of them actually say enough is enough and choose food ?

Jamie had no clue.

Jamie was kind and caring and thoughtful. And in the end he helped the most.

I do wonder if the reason so many fail to prioritise is that they have failed to adjust their lifestyles when benefits have been reduced after the generosity of them under Labour or think that they should be able to have a lifestyle that involves luxuries at the expense of basics.