Is anyone else watching the 'on the breadline' programme ??

[MrsMorgan]

Why is that whenever they feature a lone parent in a programme like this, they always have to have loads of kids, messy houses and generally look and behave excatly how most people percieve lone parents to be ??

It is so annoying.

Exactly G&T, I just don't get it.

Aww isn't Keith good with the kids.

Keith Allen is fantastic isn't he - making great changes without being patronising. The children love him

It's on ITV

Makemine i agree Keith is great making changes that are achievable and realistic for that family

The sound of shock and amazement in the kids voices and the look on the little ones faces when eating THEIR home-made pizza was priceless.

I think the dirt, not cleaning etc is because these people have given up, they can't see any hope out there?

I'm sure you're right CarGirl. It's really depressing. If you grow up in those conditions I guess it is very difficult to break out of it, as by the time you are grown up you don't have any expectations for anything else. And so it goes on...

What can be done about it do you think? Surely one of the major issues our society faces (as it has huge knock-on effects on crime, NHS, economy, education etc etc). It is very difficult for anyone in power to speak out about it without sounding patronising, and yet I do think Something Needs To Be Done

sniggered that none of the girls had the faintest idea who MelB is/was,

keith allen is my hero, whatever he does.

I have no idea what can be done!

I wonder if some sort of national service could be created, not necessarily to serve fighting IYSWIM but so every teenager/early 20s has to do something even if it's just for a few years - either study or national service.

Something so they see a different way of living, mix with different people etc.

I have no idea what can be done!

I wonder if some sort of national service could be created, not necessarily to serve fighting IYSWIM but so every teenager/early 20s has to do something even if it's just for a few years - either study or national service.

Something so they see a different way of living, mix with different people etc.

She emptied the commode in the kitchen sink

That really is revolting

Presumably her carer (ex-husband? missed the first bit) can walk up the stairs?

I have a new found respect for KA

I fancy Keith Allen now

i liked that the kids said 'oooh are you lilly allen's dad?!' when they first saw him.

that sounds like a good plan, but I guess it would cost a prohibitive amount to implement - imagine trying to coerce people into turning up and so on. I guess the "work for your benefits" idea might work, but then you have to be very careful that you don't end up excluding people from benefits who are deserving and properly in need of them

Seems like Mel's idea to solve world poverty is universal gym membership

I'm not sure what happened if you refused to do national service - prison?

hmmm. I think prison would be a tad harsh CarGirl....!

The problem is: how to get people SELF motivated, not motivated because of what they will get/avoid. There probably is no answer. We do need to ensure that children get a fair shot though, so that they can break out of the cycle of ignorance and poverty if they are prepared to work hard. We have to capture childrens' imaginations more at school I think to get them learning and aspiring. I'm not sure how that can be done though....after all we have poured untold millions into our education system and I'm not sure there has been much achieved

I agree prison is to harsh, that's why I said I have no idea what the solution is!

It would be interesting to see how other societies operate that don't have such poverty problems find out what the differences are.

good point CarGirl, although such poverty (and much worse) can be found all over the world...... I think we aren't just talking about poverty - all the people on tv this evening had food to eat every night, a home, access to free excellent health care, free education etc. So they aren't poverty-stricken in the sense that many people in the world are, are they? I think our frustration is that they are wasting the opportunities they do have and choosing to live in a way which we find repellent and shocking.

I knew that mumsnet members would have noticed Trinny pouring the wee down the sink!!! I was dumbfounded.

On the whole, the celebs do seem to be trying to help, though I agree that the gym memberships that are going to cost a fortune in busfares mightn't be much use - and I think they said it was a 45 min bus ride too, which adds 1.5 hours travelling to every gym visit - probably not that practical.

The whole point of the programme was that the celebrities lived how they did - the woman with Trinny couldn't climb stairs, therefore had to empty her commode down the sink.

I think they ticked every 'benefits society' box in the book there:

Fat
Tattoos
Staffie dogs
lived like pigs
thick
smoke
drank
ate shit
too many kids
kids never went to school

Nancy - it wasn't the disabled lady whose life Trinny was meant to be living - it was her ex-husband that Trinny was replacing - he acts as the disabled lady's carer. As he wasn't disabled, he would surely have emptied the commode down the loo.

Is anyone else really disturbed by the lack of sheets?
Thing is, I can understand people giving up on trying to keep on top of the washing up when you have 5 kids, and I can understand them giving up on the rat problem if you've tried to deal with it and it still comes back (we have a slug problem that is fairly resistant to our efforts ) but NOT USING SHEETS?
It seemed to be the case in at least two of the families, too - the boy who slept on a mattress in the lounge, and one of the girls in the Mel B family.

The producers have picked the scrotiest people possible, that's what reality tv show makers do.

It wouldn't be much fun to come to my house, where my cupboards are never bare and our diet, while basic, is ample, and there's a fruit bowl and sheets on the beds, and toys in boxes, and I don't sit in a suppurating heap in a cloud of Mayfair, drowning my sorrows with knock off Baileys.

Where's the entertainment in watching me make a cup of tea?

Yes I am on benefits. I have been, on and off, for 2 years.

I truly think your brains play a part in how poor you really appear to be.

The people who haven't got sheets - can they genuinely not afford sheets or have they spent it on fags/booze/bingo? Even knock off fags are expensive!

Most of the 'poor' people I know (and I am only jut becoming aware that as I am on benefits I fit into that catagory) do not live like that. Their houses generally need decorating, as that costs money, and are cluttered because of lack of storage and space. Mine is the same.

But I've never been anywhere where there are no sheets on the bed!

They can afford sheets. You can get them for £2.99 in Sainsburys and no doubt less in charity shops.