It started predictably. The four celebs had all the preconceptions about anyone being able to get a job, lots of people fiddle the system, etc. But the reality was different. Meg, Emma and Gavin all managed to find work (did that have anything to do with the camera being there?). When, we wondered, were they going to be confronted with the reality of the benefits system? They were. When Craig Last explained to Meg that she had worked for 16 hours and would have to hand back the £39 they'd been given at the start, Meg refused and became a benefits cheat. Emma Harrison explained the situation to Dermot, who had also worked more than 16 hours. He says that in that situation he would not tell the Jobcentre and would break the law.
Larry Lamb was the most fun. He knew he had no chance of getting a job, so idled, congratulating himself on being able to manage on the money. The confrontation with Emma Harrison came on the beach at Hartlepool. Emma pointed out that the money is job seeker's allowance. When they have walked away from each other, Emma says that she meets people like him so many times, trapped in the system, but she's shocked and fascinated that he's become so in two days. Larry calls it "patronising bullshit". The Asda application form that he hasn't yet filled in gets completed on behalf of the lady he meets who is the tenant of the house he's in. She is out of work, and can't live on the £64 per week that she gets.
It could have been a lot worse.
