Rich, Famous, and Jobless

Is it just me or does a Monday evening seem a little barren if there’s not at least an hour of telly dedicated to some take on worklessness, poverty , MPs, celebrities or a combination thereof?

Last week it was “Famous, Rich and Jobless” over two nights on BBC1. This really plumbed something of a new depth in tabloid TV, putting four d-listers into wholly contrived situations, presumably followed at all times by a camera team. I was at a loss to recognise the female contingent but did recognise the Irish chap who renovates gardens and the dead geezer from East Enders. In all cases bar the dead guy the “famous” made a fair stab at finding work. But one has to ask how difficult it is to get some temp work when trailed by the ubiquitous camera crew in these fame-hungry times.

The programmes barely scratched the surface of the real issues and, when they did recognise them, seemed oddly reluctant to investigate either to any depth or to make a stab at what a long term resolution might look like. There was also some downright dangerous cod psychology going on particularly around bereavement and marital disharmony. Clearly what the host jobless needed was good, sustained, professional advice and support not the gawping telly treatment they got.

These were generally good-hearted celebs though. They clearly gave a damn but were well in over their depth and didn’t know the half of it after their short break in hell (not so hellish though for Larry Lamb who took himself for a walk at the seaside when he’d satisfied himself he could live off tuna and needn’t look for work). The person who should have known better and who, surely, has a responsibility to raise the veil on these issues was Emma Harrison. Emma’s quite the media darling nowadays. Just count the guises she’s adopted in the last year or so - “Secret Millionaire”, “Benefit Busters” and now the “expert” brought in to empathise with and advise the famous jobless. Today though she’s almost grappling with the big issues. “Benefit Busters” left her pretty much speechless when the interviewer asked her what she’d do about the apparent iniquities of the benefit system. The response was something like “I don’t know, I’m not Einstein, I have people to think for me”. This time she seemed to handle the issue head on – only really she didn’t. She asked the Irish gardener how he felt about paying back his benefits after working hard and exceeding his 16 hours. A bit crap really was the response and he’d probably break the law to keep the cash. End of story. Emma – shame on you – what a lost opportunity to make some cogent policy arguments for what might be an appropriate alternative to stripping people of benefits just as they start to make a cautious return to work .

There were some genuinely sad scenes. The lady who’d lost her job as an accountant was quite clearly terrified at the position she was in. Her reference to “eating a lot of toast” left one, literally, sick to the stomach for her. Good of Larry Lamb to help her fill out a Tesco job application but I’d like to have known a little more about her circumstances and how she got on subsequently. I hope she got the job. If she didn’t I hope she’s now getting the support and guidance she clearly needs from a W2W provider. And, there’s the rub really. This was a timely opportunity to investigate what works about the system and showcase the good stuff, examine what doesn’t work and to be brave enough to offer some considered opinion about the way forward. What a shame that Emma didn’t grasp that nettle!

Watch episode 1 on BBC's iplayer here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rgjbk/Famous_Rich_and_Jobless_Ep... and episode 2 here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rgjdw/Famous_Rich_and_Jobless_Ep...