Four Sport Relief volunteers agree to sleep rough on the streets of London to experience the harsh reality of homelessness in the UK. Comedian Nick Hancock, TV presenter Julia Bradbury, former snooker player Willie Thorne and celebrity cleaner Kim Woodburn all struggle with isolation, fear, the cold and wet and the effort of day-to-day survival. For each volunteer, the streets become a test of strength and self-reliance, and not everybody copes. They start to examine their own lives and their own relationships with homelessness: Willie has gambled hundreds of thousands of pounds away during a 40-year gambling addiction and has just gone bankrupt, while Kim survived being homeless herself as a teenager and has strong opinions on how deserving of help or not the homeless are in the UK. This social experiment, led by The Big Issue founder John Bird, aims to expose the realities of an increasing homeless problem in the UK. The number of rough sleepers has gone up 55% and the average age of death is just 47 years old - 43 if you're a woman. Meanwhile, one in ten of us will experience homelessness in some form during our lives.
Four Sport Relief volunteers immerse themselves in the lives of real people living with long-term homelessness. Comedian Nick Hancock, TV presenter Julia Bradbury, former snooker player Willie Thorne and celebrity cleaner Kim Woodburn must not only deal with the business of day-to-day survival on the streets, but the reality of people's lives unravelling in front of them. They are paired up with homeless buddies to experience the inventive and secret methods of survival used by many that are part of a homeless world most of us are totally unaware of. They discover that their new homeless friends now living on the streets were once successful professionals with families and comfortable homes, and just how painful it is to lose everything. All four volunteers also become involved in getting to the bottom of the root causes of homelessness - with some surprising results - and what possibilities there are to get off the streets. This social experiment, led by The Big Issue founder John Bird, aims to expose the realities of an increasing homeless problem in the UK. The number of rough sleepers has gone up 55 per cent and the average age of death is just 47 years old - 43 if you're a woman. Meanwhile, one in ten of us will experience homelessness in some form during our lives.
In 2009 recession and repossession mean homelessness is a frightening possibility for almost everyone. But for five famous volunteers, it's about to become a terrifying reality. Former tennis star Annabel Croft, The One Show's Hardeep Singh Kohli, journalist and writer Rosie Boycott, former Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones and the Marquis of Blandford put homelessness in the spotlight by agreeing to swap their lavish lifestyles, fame and fortune for a world of sleeping rough, soup runs and hostels. All five have earned success, recognition and, in some cases, notoriety in their chosen fields but, with everything they value stripped away and just a sleeping bag as a symbol of their new life, how will they adjust to being invisible, vulnerable and desperate as a homeless person in London today? Guided and assisted by John Bird, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Big Issue, and Craig Last, a former youth worker for the charity Centrepoint, the five start this ten-day experience being dropped off in different areas of London, where they will spend their first three days and nights trying to survive on the streets. The first night is unnerving and frightening as they each try to find somewhere safe to shelter from the sub-zero temperatures and sleep. Each doorway looks as uninviting as the next, there is a constant feeling of threat and, with no money, the prospect of begging begins to feel like a greater hurdle than actually getting any sleep. Three nights sleeping rough are followed by three nights living with a homeless 'buddy', each of whom has a history of abuse, drink or drug problems. But emotions run high as the five struggle to cope in this harsh environment, and there are tears and clashes before the week's out.
Five become four in the second part of this documentary exploring homelessness in Britain. Beaten by the whole experience of living rough in London, the Marquis of Blandford quits for the home comforts of Blenheim Palace on day three. Rosie Boycott, Hardeep Singh Kohli, Annabel Croft and Bruce Jones have been stripped of all their money and personal possessions and are experiencing life on the streets first hand. They've slept in doorways, queued at soup kitchens and begged for spare change. They are tired, emotional, dirty and hungry, and now they're seeing life from the perspective of a homeless buddy. The strain is beginning to show as the lack of sleep, food and no longer being treated like a human being starts to take its toll, causing clashes, tears and full-blown arguments. After a gruelling few days living rough with their homeless buddies, the four are finally sent to live in different hostels in London and Glasgow, and discover a more frightening and intimidating environment than the streets. Annabel hangs out with former gang members at a young persons' hostel, Bruce witnesses the harsh reality of alcoholism when he stays in a wet hostel, Hardeep struggles to cope with living with hardened drug addicts in his hometown of Glasgow, and Rosie experiences loneliness when she moves into a tiny room in a women's hostel. The physical and emotional experience of ten days on the streets has challenged their prejudices and preconceptions of homelessness and the different reasons and circumstances that leave someone without the home life or locked doors that we take for granted. But will it change their attitudes beyond the programme when they return to the comfort and safety of their old lives?