Channel 4’s Benefits Street makers defend the show
THE makers of Channel 4’s controversial show Benefits Street have defended scenes in the new series which openly show drug dealing and drug use.
The show, filmed in Kingston Road on the Tilery Estate in Stockton-on-tees, follows on from the first series filmed in Birmingham’s James Turner Street, but was described by some critics as “poverty porn”.
Among the residents in the first episode is Neil Maxwell, 35, who is shown bagging up cannabis, smoking it and taking pills before a court appearance.
Mr Maxwell said he had taken “early retirement” from a life of crime after a string of convictions, and said he claimed benefits because he suffers from memory loss.
Kieran Smith, from makers Love Productions, said they had followed “strict guidelines” about filming illegal activity.