Benefits Street returning for second series of controversy and community

Channel 4 confirm details of new episodes set in Stockton-on-Tees
Community: Julie and Sue will appear in the new series of Benefits Street
Ben Travis29 April 2015

Benefits Street stirred up a huge amount of controversy in its first run on Channel 4, and now the show is returning for a second series.

The first series of the documentary followed the benefits-claiming residents of James Turner Street in Birmingham, airing across five episodes in January 2014. While the show was accused by some of being ‘poverty porn’ and was investigated by Ofcom due to the number of complaints it received, it was also a ratings hit with over five million viewers turning in every week.

Series 2 of Benefits Street will focus on the residents of Kingston Road in Stockton-On-Tees, a small street with a strong sense of community that’s been hit hard by the recession. The new ‘characters’ of the show include Julie Young, a mother of six with a severely disabled son, Sue Griffiths, who’s lived on the street for over 30 years, and Dot Taylor, already nicknamed ‘Orange Dot’ by the press.

Speaking of her neighbourhood, Julie said: “Tilery Estate is just marooned in the middle of nowhere and you know what they’ve put the best people, the salt of the earth, here. People with morals and ethics.”

There will still be controversy, though – 35 year-old Maxwell, known as ‘King of the Kids’, is apparently shown dealing cannabis in the series, and is currently serving a prison sentence for wounding with intent.

Benefits Street returns to Channel 4 on May 11

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