Best Documentary
SKINT | How They Survive Without Work in England
A true account of life on an English housing estate. With those on Government handouts & long-term unemployment.
Skint Season 1
00:00 Episode 1
Thirty-seven-year-old Dean used to work at the steelworks in Scunthorpe, but now he, his wife and their seven children and stepchildren get by on benefits. Dean is a guide to his world, where being out of work is nothing out of the ordinary, where people do what they can to survive and where keeping your kids on the straight and narrow is a challenge.
46:00 Episode 2
Dean's wife Claire became a mother in her teens and is determined her daughters won't go the same way. It's difficult not to worry that her 15-year-old daughter might follow in her footsteps when she has been driving around with an older boy. Sixteen-year-old Jemelia left home at 14 and by 15 had a baby, who was immediately taken into care. The film follows Jemelia during the build-up to the court's decision about the future of her baby and Jemelia speaks honestly about her reaction to the verdict. Relying on benefits to support your children is no easy option either, as Dean and Claire are well aware.Hayley is just 21, but has five children. Neither she nor her partner work and they're hoping to get married, until their child tax credits are cut off. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Fergie is wanted by the police and is worried about whether his new girlfriend will wait for him if he ends up in prison.
01:30:41 Episode 3
Kieron, who was once slapped with an ASBO to stop his prolific shoplifting, but is now trying to change his life and get clean; and Dean's former son-in-law Shane, who wants to make it as a cage fighter. Dean's stepson James is about to leave school and hopes to join the army. First, it's time to pack the family off to Skegness for their annual holiday.
02:13:39 Episode 4
Gail deals with the loss of her husband, and struggles to keep her daughter on the right path as she mourns her stepfather.
Published May 25, 2025
