Documentary series to follow the unemployed

A three-part observational documentary seriesis to look at the world of the unemployed in Skint.

The documentary is to show provocative and revealing stories from the inside out about how people survive without work. Skint follows the lives of a group of people who are either in long-term unemployment, have never worked, or are growing up without any expectation of working.

With access over nine months in Scunthorpe, the series follows a father and step-father of nine, who used to work at the steelworks, and his friends and neighbours, many of whom live on an estate in one of the most deprived areas of the town.

At its height the steelworks employed 27,000 people. It now employs a sixth of that number. With work continuing to be hard to find, the people featured in this series are thrown back on their own resources.

Told with energy, humour and boldness, this series offers an insight into their lives: highlighting social issues such as youth unemployment, crime, welfare dependency, truancy and addiction; but with the characters also revealing their ingenuity, resilience, community support and love and pride of family.

Skint gets behind the headlines as people, often maligned for their lifestyle, offer their own story and show the real impact of worklessness – both today and over generations. The series will air on Channel 4.

[Reported by Lynn Swift]