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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/22/bbc-the-apprentice-charles-dickens-the-slum
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| BBC slums it as The Apprentice meets Charles Dickens in new history show | BBC slums it as The Apprentice meets Charles Dickens in new history show |
| (7 months later) | |
| The BBC is to recreate a Victorian slum for a “living history” series in which families will battle to avoid the dosshouse. | The BBC is to recreate a Victorian slum for a “living history” series in which families will battle to avoid the dosshouse. |
| For three weeks, a building in London’s East End will be transformed and its inhabitants taken back in time to the poverty-stricken late-Victorian era. | For three weeks, a building in London’s East End will be transformed and its inhabitants taken back in time to the poverty-stricken late-Victorian era. |
| The participants will try to scrape together a living through traditional trades such as candlemaking and wood-turning. | The participants will try to scrape together a living through traditional trades such as candlemaking and wood-turning. |
| In an Apprentice-style twist, they will also try selling flowers, food and soap to modern Londoners to make money to pay for their food and rent. | In an Apprentice-style twist, they will also try selling flowers, food and soap to modern Londoners to make money to pay for their food and rent. |
| Those who fail to make enough money will be put in the “dosshouse”, where they will sleep in makeshift beds. | Those who fail to make enough money will be put in the “dosshouse”, where they will sleep in makeshift beds. |
| According to the BBC: “They’ll start their journey in the 1860s when the plight of the poor was largely ignored and they’ll experience the economic downturn, mass immigration and acute housing shortages that came with later decades until the East End slums reached crisis point. It would take tabloid journalists, philanthropists, social scientists and the East Enders themselves to effect change. | According to the BBC: “They’ll start their journey in the 1860s when the plight of the poor was largely ignored and they’ll experience the economic downturn, mass immigration and acute housing shortages that came with later decades until the East End slums reached crisis point. It would take tabloid journalists, philanthropists, social scientists and the East Enders themselves to effect change. |
| “The slum-dwellers will learn first-hand the role their forebears played in kickstarting the welfare reforms of the early 20th century that some argue were the very first moves towards a welfare state.” | “The slum-dwellers will learn first-hand the role their forebears played in kickstarting the welfare reforms of the early 20th century that some argue were the very first moves towards a welfare state.” |
| With the current interest in the welfare state and so-called “poverty porn” series such Channel 4’s Benefits Street, the programme is likely to prove interesting. | With the current interest in the welfare state and so-called “poverty porn” series such Channel 4’s Benefits Street, the programme is likely to prove interesting. |
| The series was commissioned by outgoing BBC2 controller, Kim Shillinglaw, and head of commissioning for natural history and specialist factual features, Tom McDonald. | The series was commissioned by outgoing BBC2 controller, Kim Shillinglaw, and head of commissioning for natural history and specialist factual features, Tom McDonald. |
| Shillinglaw said: “From Back in Time for Dinner to Victorian Bakers, BBC2 viewers love a history series that is both entertaining and illuminating. At a time when questions about poverty and welfare provision still preoccupy us today, this ambitious series will bring us face to face with the shocking truth of just how little money many of our great-grandparents lived on, reveal the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience required to survive in the slum, and raise provocative questions about what kind of safety net the poorest should have.” The Slum – which is the show’s working title – is being made by Back in Time producers Wall to Wall. They are currently looking for “strong, determined contributors who think they could survive life on the Victorian breadline” to take part and who can “make ends meet exactly as the Victorian poor would have done”. | Shillinglaw said: “From Back in Time for Dinner to Victorian Bakers, BBC2 viewers love a history series that is both entertaining and illuminating. At a time when questions about poverty and welfare provision still preoccupy us today, this ambitious series will bring us face to face with the shocking truth of just how little money many of our great-grandparents lived on, reveal the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience required to survive in the slum, and raise provocative questions about what kind of safety net the poorest should have.” The Slum – which is the show’s working title – is being made by Back in Time producers Wall to Wall. They are currently looking for “strong, determined contributors who think they could survive life on the Victorian breadline” to take part and who can “make ends meet exactly as the Victorian poor would have done”. |
| Wall to Wall executive producer Cate Hall said: “The Victorians were the first to define and measure poverty; turning it from a condition that was perceived as the natural predicament of the undeserving poor into a national debate and the Victorian East End played a crucial role in this. Through the experience of our slum dwellers we’ll chart the social and economic change that impacted on the lives of the urban poor until the nation began to sit up and take notice. This series will show how and why those changes took place, and it will naturally raise questions about our present and our future.” | Wall to Wall executive producer Cate Hall said: “The Victorians were the first to define and measure poverty; turning it from a condition that was perceived as the natural predicament of the undeserving poor into a national debate and the Victorian East End played a crucial role in this. Through the experience of our slum dwellers we’ll chart the social and economic change that impacted on the lives of the urban poor until the nation began to sit up and take notice. This series will show how and why those changes took place, and it will naturally raise questions about our present and our future.” |
| The series is due to be filmed over Easter. | The series is due to be filmed over Easter. |