Episode 1

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0:00:02 > 0:00:06Newcastle upon Tyne, cultural capital of the Northeast,

0:00:06 > 0:00:09and famously a party city.

0:00:09 > 0:00:14This programme contains some strong language.

0:00:14 > 0:00:18But it's also home to some of the most deprived areas in the whole of the UK.

0:00:18 > 0:00:21In the Northeast, we have the highest unemployment rate in the country.

0:00:21 > 0:00:24A quarter of children in the Northeast live below the poverty line.

0:00:24 > 0:00:29It's soon to be home to four posh girls from down South.

0:00:29 > 0:00:32We should all have jobs. I don't really want one.

0:00:32 > 0:00:36Increasingly, British society is divided between the haves...

0:00:36 > 0:00:38I quite like the gold Rolex.

0:00:38 > 0:00:39..and the have-nots.

0:00:39 > 0:00:43There's been times when I've not even had the money to put gas and electric on.

0:00:43 > 0:00:45I've had no choice but to be on benefit.

0:00:45 > 0:00:49And with the two sides mixing less and less, there's more risk of prejudice.

0:00:49 > 0:00:52You lazy buggers. Get off your arse and go to work.

0:00:52 > 0:00:55Most rich people really are stuck-up.

0:00:55 > 0:00:56Cheers.

0:00:57 > 0:01:00Over the next ten days, these privileged young ladies

0:01:00 > 0:01:04will learn about life on the breadline with the help of four Geordie guides.

0:01:06 > 0:01:10They'll get a first-class Geordie education from their Northern sisters...

0:01:10 > 0:01:13- Shy bairns get noot.- Noot.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16..and acquire new skills.

0:01:16 > 0:01:19It's good to see them doing some hard graft labour, innit?

0:01:19 > 0:01:20Sparkling.

0:01:20 > 0:01:25But there's a whole lot to learn when they enrol at the Geordie Finishing School for Girls.

0:01:25 > 0:01:27I don't know how people do this.

0:01:27 > 0:01:29Oh, no, I'm going to cry.

0:01:39 > 0:01:44Four affluent young ladies from the South of England are heading north into the unknown.

0:01:44 > 0:01:48- That's not going to work. - They'll be swapping their cosseted lives and designer clothes.

0:01:48 > 0:01:53For ten days, they'll experience what it's like living on jobseeker's allowance in some of most

0:01:53 > 0:01:55disadvantaged wards in the country.

0:01:55 > 0:02:00I've never been north of Cardiff, I've never been on a public bus

0:02:00 > 0:02:03and I've definitely never been on a council estate.

0:02:03 > 0:02:0921-year-old Steph is a politics student and competitive rower.

0:02:09 > 0:02:14I'm expecting to find grey buildings and grey roads and grey sky,

0:02:14 > 0:02:19a sort of grey ambience of miserable sort of dreariness.

0:02:21 > 0:02:2420-year-old Fi is a drama student,

0:02:24 > 0:02:27whose daddy is an international banker.

0:02:27 > 0:02:29Oh, no, I missed it.

0:02:29 > 0:02:31I've always been in the south

0:02:31 > 0:02:34and I've grown up here so it's kind of in my comfort zone.

0:02:34 > 0:02:37It's literally like I'm going into a blank space.

0:02:37 > 0:02:40That's what I'm most scared about, not knowing.

0:02:42 > 0:02:44That's my rabbit coat.

0:02:44 > 0:02:4724-year-old Lucy, a financier's daughter,

0:02:47 > 0:02:49works as an events manager.

0:02:49 > 0:02:54I've never been to Geordie land, but I imagine they would probably wear

0:02:54 > 0:03:00some matching tracksuits, hoodies, trampy styles.

0:03:00 > 0:03:02I hope it's going to be safe.

0:03:02 > 0:03:04Ten days...

0:03:06 > 0:03:09I'm really scared when I think about it.

0:03:09 > 0:03:12# I'll let you be a fool for me. #

0:03:12 > 0:03:1824-year-old singer-songwriter Fiona is engaged to a banker.

0:03:18 > 0:03:21I know that there's a high level of teen pregnancy in the North.

0:03:21 > 0:03:25I don't know why. Less to do maybe?

0:03:28 > 0:03:31It's the morning of enrolment. The four girls are taking their first tentative steps

0:03:31 > 0:03:34towards a world they've only ever heard about.

0:03:34 > 0:03:36- I love you.- I love you, too, baby.

0:03:38 > 0:03:39Bye-bye, babe.

0:03:42 > 0:03:44I don't want to go.

0:03:44 > 0:03:47- Have a wonderful time.- Bye.

0:03:47 > 0:03:51I want to turn back. Oh, my God.

0:03:51 > 0:03:54SIREN WAILS

0:03:54 > 0:03:57For the first few days of their finishing school experience,

0:03:57 > 0:04:00the posh girls will be exposed to the effects of poverty

0:04:00 > 0:04:04on a section of British society they would rarely ever meet.

0:04:04 > 0:04:10If they're going to stand any chance of graduating, they'll need to learn to fit in, and fast.

0:04:10 > 0:04:14Guiding the Southern girls through the whole experience is Huffty,

0:04:14 > 0:04:17something of a local legend when it comes to youth work in the city.

0:04:17 > 0:04:19So you don't want to do contraception?

0:04:19 > 0:04:22Marni, you've got a baby.

0:04:22 > 0:04:28With over 20 years' experience of helping young people, she's out to challenge some negative stereotypes.

0:04:28 > 0:04:31Very good, Lucy, and what are you going to do at university?

0:04:31 > 0:04:37The Geordie stereotype is that we're all lazy, on the dole,

0:04:37 > 0:04:40we're chavs, or charvers, as we say up here,

0:04:40 > 0:04:43and we all have millions of kids before we're 21.

0:04:43 > 0:04:50The reality is that we're friendly, straight-talking, we've got a great sense of community,

0:04:50 > 0:04:54and that's why it's really important for these Southern lasses

0:04:54 > 0:04:57to come up here and find out what's right and what's wrong.

0:04:59 > 0:05:03Helping Huffty to show the posh girls around Newcastle are four young women,

0:05:03 > 0:05:07who have grown up on some of the most disadvantaged streets in the city.

0:05:07 > 0:05:12How are you feeling about the fact that these girls might feel a little bit prejudiced about yous?

0:05:12 > 0:05:14I've always been taught to treat people with respect

0:05:14 > 0:05:19and let them state their opinion, because I think everybody's allowed to have their own opinion.

0:05:19 > 0:05:2318-year-old Shauna grew up in Newcastle's best-known council area,

0:05:23 > 0:05:27- Byker.- This here is the Byker Wall.

0:05:27 > 0:05:30I wouldn't walk through the Byker Wall on my own at night. Oh, no.

0:05:30 > 0:05:34I'm not really bothered about money, to be honest.

0:05:34 > 0:05:36Money can only buy you certain things.

0:05:36 > 0:05:40It can't buy you, like, family and things like that and friends.

0:05:40 > 0:05:45They come from wealthy backgrounds. Everything's handed them on a plate and they'll talk like this.

0:05:45 > 0:05:49And they'll turn up with a Gucci bag and Prada this and all the rest of it.

0:05:49 > 0:05:52I can guarantee that mam and dad put a grand in their bank every month.

0:05:52 > 0:05:56Unemployed, single, and a mum of two, life on benefits

0:05:56 > 0:05:57is a daily battle for Makylea.

0:05:57 > 0:06:01Everything's a struggle, thinking, "Oh, where's tomorrow's meal going to come from?"

0:06:01 > 0:06:06In an ideal world, I'd provide my children with a proper meal, not beans on toast every day.

0:06:06 > 0:06:09- What do you say?- Thank you. Cheers.

0:06:09 > 0:06:11Er, cheers?

0:06:11 > 0:06:16OK, so what do you think if they start calling you things like "charvers"?

0:06:16 > 0:06:19I'd say, "I'm proud to be a charver."

0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Very good, Lyndsey.- I'd say, "I'm proud to be a charver."

0:06:22 > 0:06:28I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not a charver charver, but...I am who I am.

0:06:28 > 0:06:30Youth worker Lyndsey came up the hard way

0:06:30 > 0:06:32on the city's toughest estates.

0:06:32 > 0:06:34Me mouth got us into a lot of trouble.

0:06:34 > 0:06:39I was sort of the ringleader and I led people astray, really.

0:06:39 > 0:06:45Where I'm from, if you're posh, you're either a policeman, social services, council.

0:06:45 > 0:06:48There's definitely prejudice about people with posh accents.

0:06:48 > 0:06:52We'll have them swearing. By the time they go back down, they'll be different people.

0:06:52 > 0:06:55I bet their mothers and fathers will be, "Damned disgrace!"

0:06:55 > 0:06:58Kimberley is 20 and lives with

0:06:58 > 0:07:01her large close-knit family and her young son.

0:07:01 > 0:07:04I think I suffer Tourette's syndrome.

0:07:04 > 0:07:07Hey, that's my downfall, it's just the swearing.

0:07:07 > 0:07:10They will be shocked, but we'll make them feel welcome.

0:07:10 > 0:07:14We'll not push them out and we'll not make them feel like outsiders one bit.

0:07:14 > 0:07:18How do you think they're going to feel when they arrive in Newcastle?

0:07:18 > 0:07:20- I think they'll shit theirselves. - Aye.

0:07:21 > 0:07:27The first of the Southern girls to arrive is Lucy.

0:07:29 > 0:07:33I just... I can't believe this is really happening.

0:07:33 > 0:07:36What have I let myself in for?

0:07:36 > 0:07:43The Northeast suffers the highest rate of unemployment in the UK and it's a situation due to worsen

0:07:43 > 0:07:45following recent public sector job cuts.

0:07:45 > 0:07:49I'm thinking really bad thoughts right now.

0:07:49 > 0:07:51For the next ten days, the girls will be living in

0:07:51 > 0:07:56an ex-council house in the disadvantaged ward of Walker.

0:07:56 > 0:08:01The area has the worst unemployment in Newcastle at 18%.

0:08:06 > 0:08:07Oh, my God.

0:08:07 > 0:08:15Recently refurbished, the des res here is nevertheless a world away from life in Chelsea.

0:08:15 > 0:08:16Oh, my God.

0:08:18 > 0:08:20Oh, my God.

0:08:20 > 0:08:24Next Southerner up, Fiona Culley, gets her first glimpse of the North.

0:08:24 > 0:08:28In your head, like, you'll paint it out like

0:08:28 > 0:08:32you're going to be somewhere really scary, so you work it all out.

0:08:32 > 0:08:34This is just, like, pretty normal to me.

0:08:40 > 0:08:43Oh, my God.

0:08:43 > 0:08:46- Hello.- Hello.

0:08:46 > 0:08:48- I'm Lucy.- Hello. Nice to meet you.

0:08:48 > 0:08:51Come and have a look round.

0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Ooh, bunk beds.- Yes.

0:08:53 > 0:08:57Ah, it's kind of like being at school again.

0:08:57 > 0:08:59- Yeah, did you board?- Yeah.

0:08:59 > 0:09:02And there's a little bathroom.

0:09:03 > 0:09:06As the girls make themselves at home, at the Women's Centre,

0:09:06 > 0:09:09the Geordies are about to find out who they've been paired with.

0:09:09 > 0:09:11First up is Fiona Culley.

0:09:11 > 0:09:17By looking at that, I think she's going to be very well-spoken, like very, "Oh, gosh, that's ghastly."

0:09:17 > 0:09:22- Stuck-up.- "Oh, gosh, she's got two children. Oh, no!"

0:09:22 > 0:09:26- Lyndsey gets Lucy.- Wow!

0:09:28 > 0:09:30- She looks wild.- Party animal.

0:09:30 > 0:09:33She looks like she's had her tits done, doesn't she?

0:09:33 > 0:09:36She looks a bit, like, ditsy.

0:09:36 > 0:09:40She's the sort of person I'd think would walk round the Jubilee estate

0:09:40 > 0:09:46with iPod out and her black beret, and wave it about and stuff like that.

0:09:46 > 0:09:48You know what I mean? She's not really streetwise.

0:09:51 > 0:09:53They've got no internet here.

0:09:53 > 0:09:56- Might need to be outside.- Hm.

0:09:58 > 0:10:05While they wait for their final two housemates, Lucy and Fiona decide to brave Walker.

0:10:05 > 0:10:09- Everyone's staring at us.- It's because we're blonde, that's it.

0:10:11 > 0:10:14This is different to Waitrose.

0:10:14 > 0:10:16Oh, my God, that is vile.

0:10:16 > 0:10:19Bacon grill. What is that?

0:10:20 > 0:10:23- Do you know, like, what this stuff...- You know what spam is.

0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Course you know what that is. - It's, like, weird meat.

0:10:26 > 0:10:29- It's ham.- Is it kept in a tin? I just don't understand.

0:10:29 > 0:10:31- It lasts for a very long time.- Mmm.

0:10:31 > 0:10:35- Just in case.- Are there any 24-hour shops round here?

0:10:35 > 0:10:37- Not round here, no.- No, OK.

0:10:37 > 0:10:39- Thank you.- Thank you.

0:10:40 > 0:10:46- Shauna is partnered with Fi Wishart. - Looks like she lives on a farm. - She lives on a farm.

0:10:48 > 0:10:50She doesn't look rich.

0:10:50 > 0:10:53- And, Kimberley.- And Kimberley will be with Stephanie Hislop.

0:10:53 > 0:10:58- Daddy's diamonds.- And that shirt was at least 100 quid.

0:10:58 > 0:11:00Them boots have got to be at least 100.

0:11:00 > 0:11:04All-in-all about £500 for an outfit that she's got on there.

0:11:04 > 0:11:08Worried that the posh girls will stand out on the estates,

0:11:08 > 0:11:13- Huffty sets the Geordies the task of finding clothes to help them blend in.- Bargain hunting here we come.

0:11:13 > 0:11:16- Aye, Primani.- Primani!

0:11:20 > 0:11:26With just £30 to dress each posh girl, the Geordies head into town looking for bargains.

0:11:26 > 0:11:30- Leggings.... Where's the leggings? - Here.

0:11:30 > 0:11:32- They're jeggings. - But I cannae can't find...

0:11:32 > 0:11:36Choosing the right clothes for her Southerner might be tricky for Lyndsey.

0:11:36 > 0:11:40Lucy's a girl with expensive tastes.

0:11:42 > 0:11:45She likes to shop in London's smartest boutiques.

0:11:45 > 0:11:49- How much is it, again? - Like 400 quid. It's like another coat, isn't it?

0:11:51 > 0:11:55I love the shoes. They're adorable. I love them.

0:11:55 > 0:11:58So about 800, and the shoes 250.

0:11:58 > 0:11:59I'll just call Mummy.

0:11:59 > 0:12:02I've never really actually needed to work.

0:12:02 > 0:12:06My father is very generous and sort of made provisions for me

0:12:06 > 0:12:10so that money's never really that much of an issue.

0:12:10 > 0:12:16From the picture, she looked like she dresses up a lot and likes a lot of glitter and

0:12:16 > 0:12:19make-up, so I bought her jeans and a hoodie just to dress her down a bit.

0:12:19 > 0:12:22Mine comes from a farm so I'll get her some dungarees.

0:12:25 > 0:12:32- I would wear that.- We would wear this so it's comfortable but it's not trying to go OTT.

0:12:32 > 0:12:34Kimberly has a treat in store for Steph.

0:12:34 > 0:12:40If she turned her nose up, I'd drag her in the bathroom and she'd have no choice to get them on.

0:12:40 > 0:12:42I went out shopping for them. It took us hours.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45Why did I have to get the long one?

0:12:45 > 0:12:47That's me sorted. I'm not changing my mind.

0:12:49 > 0:12:51That's it. I'm sorted.

0:12:51 > 0:12:54- I want some bracelets. - Some bracelets?

0:12:54 > 0:12:57She needs a bit of bling in her life.

0:12:57 > 0:13:01Back at the house, the third posh girl has arrived...

0:13:03 > 0:13:07..and it hasn't taken Steph long to get stuck in.

0:13:07 > 0:13:08Jolly nice, actually.

0:13:08 > 0:13:10With a few basics already in the house,

0:13:10 > 0:13:14this is the last food they'll cook without worrying about the bill.

0:13:14 > 0:13:16Girls, do you want some more?

0:13:16 > 0:13:17I'm OK, thanks. Help yourself.

0:13:19 > 0:13:24- Hi.- Drama student Fi Wishart is the final girl to arrive.

0:13:24 > 0:13:26You need to drink wine after you've travelled.

0:13:26 > 0:13:28I'm so tired.

0:13:28 > 0:13:30I missed it. What were you doing?

0:13:30 > 0:13:32I was at home seeing a performance.

0:13:32 > 0:13:35I'm excited about bunk beds.

0:13:35 > 0:13:37- That has excited me.- Yeah?

0:13:37 > 0:13:39- Did you go to boarding school?- Yeah.

0:13:39 > 0:13:42- So you're used to bunk beds. - Definitely.- Everyone's in the same boat.

0:13:42 > 0:13:44Everyone's gone, "Bunk beds, fine."

0:13:44 > 0:13:46- Haven't had them for ten years... - Yeah, I know.- ..but still.

0:13:50 > 0:13:56The four posh girls have no idea what to expect from their Geordie finishing school experience.

0:13:56 > 0:13:59- How are you?- Champion, thank you.

0:13:59 > 0:14:01So Huffty comes round to give them the low-down.

0:14:01 > 0:14:04So welcome to Newcastle, lasses.

0:14:04 > 0:14:08- Thank you. - I can't do anything but applaud yous. I think yous are dead brave.

0:14:08 > 0:14:15Huffty wants them to manage on £73.87p, the equivalent of jobseeker's allowance.

0:14:15 > 0:14:20After deductions for basics already in the house, their budget has shrunk to £59.

0:14:20 > 0:14:23- Each or...?- Each, yeah.

0:14:23 > 0:14:26- So that's what you're going to survive on.- For ten days?

0:14:26 > 0:14:32- For ten days.- 59. Compared to what I'm used to in London,

0:14:32 > 0:14:34that's unreal.

0:14:34 > 0:14:38How much would £59 normally last you, then, Lucy?

0:14:38 > 0:14:41I don't even want to say. I'm so embarrassed.

0:14:41 > 0:14:44- Two days.- Two days, yeah.

0:14:44 > 0:14:50To make sure they don't get tempted, Huffty's taking their cash and credit cards for safekeeping.

0:14:50 > 0:14:54And for their safety, she wants their jewellery, too.

0:14:54 > 0:15:01There's lots of issues in this area with drug and alcohol abuse, antisocial behaviour.

0:15:01 > 0:15:05It's not an area that you might be used to.

0:15:05 > 0:15:11For an example, last week, there was a lad who was stripped naked

0:15:11 > 0:15:15by a bloke who robbed him on the street cos he liked his trainers,

0:15:15 > 0:15:18he liked his Levi jeans and he liked his tracksuit top.

0:15:18 > 0:15:25Now, if that's for some clothes, what are they going to be like when they see your jewellery?

0:15:25 > 0:15:28It's real.

0:15:28 > 0:15:31For Fiona, giving over her jewellery isn't easy.

0:15:31 > 0:15:34She's just got engaged with a dazzling ring.

0:15:34 > 0:15:37Congratulations.

0:15:37 > 0:15:42- It's coming off, though, isn't it? - It is, because I don't want your finger to be chopped off.

0:15:45 > 0:15:50- And Huffty has another proposal to stop them standing out.- Steph.

0:15:50 > 0:15:55- The clothes the Geordie girls chose for them.- Lucy.

0:15:56 > 0:16:01- I've got a really mumsy outfit. - Oh, that's really cool.

0:16:01 > 0:16:03Strange - I don't really wear casual clothes.

0:16:03 > 0:16:06Do we have to wear these clothes tomorrow?

0:16:06 > 0:16:09Well, they were picked for you especially by your Geordie lasses,

0:16:09 > 0:16:16erm, individually. So, it's up to you. They picked them for you.

0:16:16 > 0:16:19It'd be rude not to, especially if they've picked it out for us, too.

0:16:19 > 0:16:25Good. So get a good night's sleep and I look forward to seeing yous all tomorrow, right?

0:16:25 > 0:16:27I'm going to try all these on before I go to bed.

0:16:30 > 0:16:33Who turns up to live in Walker, in Newcastle,

0:16:33 > 0:16:36with a big rock like that on their finger?

0:16:36 > 0:16:41I mean, 99.9% of Geordies are lovely, friendly people.

0:16:41 > 0:16:42And dead honest.

0:16:42 > 0:16:47But you've got the odd radge who'd take exception to that - they'd take it off her finger.

0:16:47 > 0:16:50They'd take her finger, too. It's absolutely ridiculous.

0:16:55 > 0:16:56DOG BARKS

0:16:56 > 0:16:59It's day one of Finishing School,

0:16:59 > 0:17:02time for their Geordie fashion makeover.

0:17:02 > 0:17:06I feel like Jessie J... # Jessie J! #

0:17:06 > 0:17:10I feel a bit like a moron right now.

0:17:11 > 0:17:15I've got some amazing jewellery, which will replace my rings.

0:17:15 > 0:17:16SHE SIGHS

0:17:16 > 0:17:17Oop!

0:17:23 > 0:17:27I think it's going to replace the diamond nicely!

0:17:28 > 0:17:32And what does Steph make of Kim's personal shopping?

0:17:32 > 0:17:34I think she's done really well. This is really nice.

0:17:34 > 0:17:36Excellent.

0:17:38 > 0:17:42For Officer Training Corps Cadet Steph Hislop, university life

0:17:42 > 0:17:44is all about getting stuck in.

0:17:44 > 0:17:46If I had to summarise my lifestyle...

0:17:46 > 0:17:52it would be Carpe Diem, which is Latin for "seize the day".

0:17:52 > 0:17:55She thinks the trip north could boost her career,

0:17:55 > 0:17:58which she hopes will start in the Civil Service.

0:17:58 > 0:18:02In my day-to-day life, I do not meet working class people by and large.

0:18:02 > 0:18:09And to have a very thorough and detailed understanding of how the rest of society works,

0:18:09 > 0:18:12will be very beneficial to me in my future political career.

0:18:18 > 0:18:22Before classes begin, the privileged girls' first challenge is to go

0:18:22 > 0:18:25and knock for the Geordie they've been paired with.

0:18:25 > 0:18:28Armed with scant directions and their benefit money,

0:18:28 > 0:18:31they have to cross the alien city on their own

0:18:31 > 0:18:37- and into the council estate of a girl they've never met before. - I don't know where I am.

0:18:37 > 0:18:41For the first time in their lives, their money isn't protecting them.

0:18:41 > 0:18:43Oh, no! I don't want to go.

0:18:43 > 0:18:46- I don't want to go to the bus stop! - Why not?!

0:18:46 > 0:18:48Cos everyone's going to be looking at me funny.

0:18:50 > 0:18:52Steph is determined to see the positives.

0:18:52 > 0:18:58The area's absolutely charming, I haven't seen any sign of poverty yet.

0:18:58 > 0:19:03- If I wanted to go to Granger Street, am I on the right side of the road?- Yeah, you are.

0:19:03 > 0:19:05- I am? Smashing. Thanks very much. - No bother.

0:19:07 > 0:19:10Charming. Delightful. Really, really friendly.

0:19:10 > 0:19:13And absolutely gorgeous!

0:19:14 > 0:19:21With no knowledge of the area, Lucy's succeeded in making it as far as the notorious Rye Hill Estate

0:19:21 > 0:19:24and the family home of her guide, Lyndsey.

0:19:24 > 0:19:27Probably aren't very many Chelsea girls walking along the road

0:19:27 > 0:19:30with bloody tweed on and a Louis Vuitton handbag!

0:19:32 > 0:19:38- I'm scared.- Once one of the most run-down estates in Newcastle and a crime black spot,

0:19:38 > 0:19:41Rye Hill was a no-go area for outsiders,

0:19:41 > 0:19:43because of girls like Lyndsey.

0:19:43 > 0:19:48A lot of people would say I was trouble. When I was younger, aye.

0:19:48 > 0:19:50My middle name was trouble.

0:19:53 > 0:19:56I got led into different things,

0:19:56 > 0:20:01like taking drugs and, um, drinking a lot,

0:20:01 > 0:20:05doing things that I shouldn't have been doing really.

0:20:05 > 0:20:09I got in trouble with the police quite a lot. Pretty normal.

0:20:09 > 0:20:14If you got arrested it was like, "She's been nicked again. What has she done now?"

0:20:15 > 0:20:19Lyndsey's now turned things around and trained as a youth worker,

0:20:19 > 0:20:22helping kids stay out of trouble.

0:20:22 > 0:20:24- Hello.- Hi, I'm Lucy

0:20:24 > 0:20:27Thanks so much for my clothes. Look, I'm wearing them.

0:20:27 > 0:20:30- Are you wearing them? Do you like them?- I love them.

0:20:30 > 0:20:31I definitely had the coolest.

0:20:31 > 0:20:35Everyone was like, "Ah, you've got a really good outfit."

0:20:35 > 0:20:37- I've got that top actually. - It's really nice.

0:20:37 > 0:20:40- Do you like your earrings? - Oh, yeah, look.

0:20:40 > 0:20:45Lyndsey wants to teach Lucy how tough things can be growing up here.

0:20:45 > 0:20:48This is the main square where we used to knock about.

0:20:48 > 0:20:53- All these houses were empty and boarded up.- Really?

0:20:53 > 0:20:56No-one really wanted to live there.

0:20:56 > 0:20:59- I don't think no-one would even want to squat there.- Oh my God!

0:21:00 > 0:21:03There's been massive council investment in the area

0:21:03 > 0:21:05since Lyndsey was growing up,

0:21:05 > 0:21:09but it suffers from unemployment three times higher than the city.

0:21:09 > 0:21:13Only a third of children leave school with five or more GCSEs

0:21:13 > 0:21:16- grade C or above.- That was our area.

0:21:16 > 0:21:19If anyone else came in it, then there was trouble.

0:21:19 > 0:21:24- Really?- We sort of like claimed the area.

0:21:24 > 0:21:27- There was a lot of fighting with weapons and stuff.- Really?

0:21:27 > 0:21:33- What sort of weapons?- Guns...- Shit. - ..and anything.- Oh my God, you're joking.

0:21:33 > 0:21:37Oh, my God. I'm only laughing because I'm just like so like...

0:21:37 > 0:21:39That's so bad. I don't know anyone that...

0:21:39 > 0:21:43It's like if you've got to fight, you've got to fight,

0:21:43 > 0:21:46- you've got to look after yourself, really.- Yeah.

0:21:46 > 0:21:51All across the city, the posh girls are meeting their Geordie guides.

0:21:51 > 0:21:54The imposing Byker Wall is a world away from anything Fi's used to.

0:21:54 > 0:22:01- These are like houses.- Yeah, these are houses and you've got a primary school that I went to.

0:22:01 > 0:22:04And Fiona is meeting single mum, Makylea.

0:22:04 > 0:22:07- We've been given job seeker's allowance.- OK.

0:22:07 > 0:22:10You can learn a budget yourself, can't you?

0:22:10 > 0:22:12I've been on jobseeker's a few times now.

0:22:12 > 0:22:16- It's just been so difficult, like childcare situation.- Yeah.

0:22:16 > 0:22:22Meanwhile for the first time in her life, Steph's boarded a public bus.

0:22:22 > 0:22:28As it makes its way across town, she's mentally preparing to explore more unknown territory -

0:22:28 > 0:22:31the council estate home of her Geordie guide, Kimberley.

0:22:34 > 0:22:38Mother of two year old Jayden, Kimberley is a care assistant

0:22:38 > 0:22:41who lives at home with her parents.

0:22:41 > 0:22:44Got me nephew in the corner.

0:22:44 > 0:22:48Probably done a bunk from school early. That's a typical Geordie.

0:22:49 > 0:22:55I come from a very big family. I have five sisters and a brother.

0:22:55 > 0:22:57There's three off we work, one's on the sick,

0:22:57 > 0:23:01the other two is on the dole and so is my brother.

0:23:01 > 0:23:05Here's your pony. That's his pony.

0:23:05 > 0:23:12If their friend that's coming up from the South wants to have a go, there's one for her.

0:23:12 > 0:23:17I am privileged to have such a big family.

0:23:17 > 0:23:22I do hope that she doesn't just see this and think,

0:23:22 > 0:23:26"Well they're just this and that," when we really are nice people.

0:23:32 > 0:23:37- Hi, I'm Kimberley, nice to meet you. - Good to meet you, I'm Steph.- Come in.

0:23:40 > 0:23:44- Hello.- Say hello.- Hello.

0:23:46 > 0:23:49Hello. Oh, shy.

0:23:49 > 0:23:53Hi, I'm Steph.

0:23:53 > 0:23:56- Have a seat.- Thank you.

0:23:58 > 0:24:01- Do you have any children? - I don't, no. No, no.

0:24:01 > 0:24:02Do you have a partner?

0:24:02 > 0:24:04I have a boyfriend, we've been together a year.

0:24:04 > 0:24:09- I have a husband, in Afghanistan at the minute.- Is he?

0:24:09 > 0:24:13- Do you know my father did a tour of Afghan.- Did he?

0:24:13 > 0:24:15My father's in the Army.

0:24:15 > 0:24:18- Small world really, isn't it?- It is.

0:24:18 > 0:24:20I tell you what, Army world, is crazy small.

0:24:20 > 0:24:25- What regiment is your husband in? - Royal Tank Regiment.- OK.

0:24:25 > 0:24:29A normal squaddie really. I'm really glad of that.

0:24:29 > 0:24:32Knowing he's driving around and he's not actually walking.

0:24:32 > 0:24:34It keeps my mind at ease a bit.

0:24:36 > 0:24:38- There's a lot of stairs. - When did you get married?

0:24:38 > 0:24:43- On the 2nd October last year. - Really recently.

0:24:43 > 0:24:49- Two weeks, we were married two weeks and he was gone.- Congratulations. - Thanks very much.

0:24:49 > 0:24:51The house is really nice.

0:24:51 > 0:24:57The kitchen is clean and they've got appliances that I wouldn't expect necessarily.

0:24:57 > 0:25:01It's a surprise that they've all the mod cons, if you like.

0:25:01 > 0:25:03It is a small house for that many people to be living in.

0:25:03 > 0:25:07It's very rare to find three generations living under the same roof

0:25:07 > 0:25:10but I think, in terms of society,

0:25:10 > 0:25:12there couldn't be anything more healthy because

0:25:12 > 0:25:16it just breeds a real family spirit and that's delightful.

0:25:19 > 0:25:24Now that they've met their Geordie guides, the finishing school lessons can begin.

0:25:24 > 0:25:28Newcastle's central market is the perfect place for a class

0:25:28 > 0:25:33on how to make jobseeker's allowance stretch to feed them for ten days.

0:25:33 > 0:25:36This is a budgeting task. This is the Grainger Market.

0:25:36 > 0:25:42You'll get excellent produce and you'll get it at a fantastic price.

0:25:42 > 0:25:45The Geordie girls have some advice.

0:25:45 > 0:25:48- Ask for a penny long stand. - A paddy long stand?

0:25:48 > 0:25:50- No, a penny long stand. - A penny long stand?- Yeah.

0:25:50 > 0:25:52Yeah, a penny long stand.

0:25:52 > 0:25:56- It's not going to be like a cow's penis?- Right, let's go.

0:25:56 > 0:25:58Good luck. >

0:25:58 > 0:26:04To see if the posh girls are managing their money, the Geordie girls get to watch on a TV monitor.

0:26:04 > 0:26:07Oh, my God, can't see what that is.

0:26:07 > 0:26:13As well as shopping for themselves, tonight they'll be cooking dinner for the Geordies.

0:26:13 > 0:26:18So Huffty has given them an extra tenner to buy some regional specialities.

0:26:18 > 0:26:19Do you do pease pudding?

0:26:19 > 0:26:23- Yes.- What is it?- Pease pudding?

0:26:23 > 0:26:26It's just pease pudding, you know, with peas.

0:26:28 > 0:26:30Do you sell plate pies?

0:26:30 > 0:26:35- Yeah, we do. We've got some her the minute.- One of those, then, please.

0:26:35 > 0:26:38Is there anything else on there? Oh, and a penny long stand.

0:26:38 > 0:26:43There's no penny long stands here. It doesn't exist. That is somebody taking the mick.

0:26:43 > 0:26:46- It is.- You can hear them laughing.

0:26:50 > 0:26:53Tonight's meal in hand, they can get back to buying food for the week,

0:26:53 > 0:26:57and Steph shows she has an eye for a bargain.

0:26:57 > 0:27:01- Ten for 1.80?- We can do that. - We might as well. We can freeze them forever.

0:27:01 > 0:27:03They're trying to budget, I think.

0:27:03 > 0:27:07- Despite temptation... - Look at those steaks.

0:27:07 > 0:27:11- How incredible do they look?- ..they plump for the cheaper cuts of meat.

0:27:11 > 0:27:14- Shall we get, like, a pound of sausages?- Yeah, that'd be good.

0:27:14 > 0:27:16Two of these, two of these and one of those.

0:27:16 > 0:27:181.99 for that.

0:27:18 > 0:27:22Steph and Fiona look good at budgeting.

0:27:22 > 0:27:24Got it all?

0:27:24 > 0:27:26I think the other two are a little bit clueless.

0:27:26 > 0:27:30HUFFTY: 'They're buying hats?'

0:27:32 > 0:27:34Ooh, shall we get some garlic?

0:27:37 > 0:27:39- She looks a bit lost, doesn't she? - Aye, she looks lost.

0:27:39 > 0:27:43- 'Do you think she's ever been on a budget?- No, I don't think so.'

0:27:43 > 0:27:45Spend, spend, spend.

0:27:45 > 0:27:48- How much is that now?- That's 2.30. - Oh...

0:27:48 > 0:27:52- Are you on a budget, like?- Yeah. - So it's a real strict budget. - It is a strict budget.

0:27:52 > 0:27:55That's why we were hoping you'd give it to us for free.

0:27:55 > 0:27:57You've got more chance of getting a kiss off a crocodile.

0:27:57 > 0:27:59Fiona, nothing in Newcastle's free.

0:27:59 > 0:28:01'Regardless of you having a pretty little face,'

0:28:01 > 0:28:03you're not going to get it for nowt.

0:28:03 > 0:28:08Working as a group, the Southern girls pass this test and leave with

0:28:08 > 0:28:12enough food to feed themselves for six days for just £20.

0:28:16 > 0:28:19Thinking about how to make a little money go a long way

0:28:19 > 0:28:22is a step in the right direction, but they still have a lot more to learn

0:28:22 > 0:28:26to understand how poverty affects people.

0:28:26 > 0:28:32Huffty wants them to see how different their lives are from that of their Geordie sisters.

0:28:32 > 0:28:35- Right, lasses... Lasses. Lasses. - What?

0:28:35 > 0:28:39What we're going to do now is get to know each other a bit more, as a group.

0:28:39 > 0:28:44So she's devised a series of questions about money and upbringing to get the debate flowing.

0:28:44 > 0:28:48The question is - what do your parents do? And the answer is -

0:28:48 > 0:28:50they're both on benefits.

0:28:50 > 0:28:54This answer's close to home for all of the Geordies, but it's Makylea's.

0:28:54 > 0:28:58- How long have they been on benefits? - Me mam, probably her whole life. - Yeah.

0:28:58 > 0:29:02- I'm not too sure about my dad, cos we only met a couple of years ago. - Right.

0:29:02 > 0:29:04OK, Fi, what about your parents?

0:29:04 > 0:29:09My dad is a banker, and my mum doesn't do anything.

0:29:09 > 0:29:13Is that because your dad's got loads of money? And she doesn't need...

0:29:13 > 0:29:17- No, I'm not being rude... - She is a lady of leisure. She doesn't do anything.

0:29:17 > 0:29:21- Do you get money off your parents? - Yeah.- Like an allowance?- Yeah.

0:29:21 > 0:29:24- How much do you get off of them? - £700 a month.

0:29:24 > 0:29:29That's my wage! I go to work and I graft really hard

0:29:29 > 0:29:33for 12 hours, and I come out with what yous get for an allowance.

0:29:33 > 0:29:35Does anybody want to swap lifestyles?!

0:29:35 > 0:29:37THEY ALL LAUGH

0:29:37 > 0:29:44OK, what is the most luxurious item you have bought for yourself or had bought for you?

0:29:44 > 0:29:49- And the answer is - bought a necklace when I was younger. Lyndsey, is it you?- Aye.

0:29:49 > 0:29:51How long did you save for it?

0:29:51 > 0:29:54- Months.- Yeah.- For ever.

0:29:54 > 0:29:58Had to go down the shop every week and pay, like, as much as I could off.

0:29:58 > 0:30:02- Lucy, what about you?- My parents bought me a flat in London.- A flat?!

0:30:02 > 0:30:04Fuck!

0:30:06 > 0:30:09OK, next one. Where did you go to school?

0:30:09 > 0:30:14And the answer is - I have attended International School in South Africa till I was seven,

0:30:14 > 0:30:17then I went to boarding school in Dorset in England.

0:30:17 > 0:30:19- You've travelled the world?- Yeah.

0:30:19 > 0:30:26- I've never been on a plane before in my life.- You've not?!- Oh, my God! - I've never been abroad.

0:30:26 > 0:30:31For single mum Makylea, holidays abroad are just a dream.

0:30:31 > 0:30:32Do you want to go on the roundabout?

0:30:32 > 0:30:35She has more pressing issues, like surviving.

0:30:35 > 0:30:39It's really hard to get a job in Newcastle at the moment.

0:30:39 > 0:30:42I mean, God, I've been looking for absolute months.

0:30:42 > 0:30:44I've been to shops handing my CVs out,

0:30:44 > 0:30:49and I'm just trying to move me life in a positive direction, like a positive path.

0:30:49 > 0:30:54I don't want to sit down and be on benefits, because what example am I setting for my children?

0:30:54 > 0:30:58I want them to see you've got to go out and work for things that you want in life.

0:30:58 > 0:31:00Whoo!

0:31:00 > 0:31:02So, boarding school, then?

0:31:02 > 0:31:06- Yeah, boarding school since I was seven.- Did you not miss your family?

0:31:06 > 0:31:07You move into a new family.

0:31:07 > 0:31:13- You've got house parents and you've got 60 sisters.- It was like a massive sleepover with all your friends.

0:31:13 > 0:31:17It was probably, yeah, the best seven years of my life.

0:31:17 > 0:31:20I couldn't ever, ever put my son in boarding school. Never, ever.

0:31:20 > 0:31:24I love him too much. I know it was for their best interests,

0:31:24 > 0:31:29but if you're a good mother, I think you should stick by your children.

0:31:29 > 0:31:32Then one of them says her dad bought her a house. That was a big shock.

0:31:32 > 0:31:35I would love my dad to buy me a house, absolutely love it.

0:31:35 > 0:31:38- Bye.- See you later.

0:31:38 > 0:31:42Splashing out round here tends to be on the simpler stuff.

0:31:42 > 0:31:47Huffty's asked Lyndsey to give Lucy a taste of a Geordie treat - getting your nails done.

0:31:47 > 0:31:49They're so weird.

0:31:49 > 0:31:52- I've never seen anything quite like it.- Do you like them?

0:31:52 > 0:31:55Yeah, I think they'll grow on me.

0:31:55 > 0:31:57I just don't want to look too Essex-y.

0:31:57 > 0:32:00- There's nowt wrong with that. - LUCY LAUGHS

0:32:00 > 0:32:06Over at the girls' house in Walker, Fi and Fiona have to cook dinner for eight on a budget,

0:32:06 > 0:32:08but the pease pudding is perplexing them.

0:32:08 > 0:32:10I'm not sure if you're meant to eat it raw.

0:32:10 > 0:32:12No, you must have to cook it.

0:32:12 > 0:32:13Let's see.

0:32:13 > 0:32:17- It doesn't give instructions. - Oh, my God! That smells like a garden.

0:32:17 > 0:32:20- It smells like mud. - Let's just see what it's got in it.

0:32:20 > 0:32:23No, but check, check, check.

0:32:23 > 0:32:25Does it not say directions?

0:32:25 > 0:32:26- Ah.- What does it taste like?

0:32:26 > 0:32:28It's kind of like sweet corn.

0:32:30 > 0:32:33You just need to heat it up. It's kind of nice.

0:32:33 > 0:32:35- Or not.- No...- Don't like it?

0:32:36 > 0:32:40- See, I don't really go out a lot. - No?

0:32:40 > 0:32:44Last time I was out, I think it was, like, Christmas or something.

0:32:44 > 0:32:48I'd have been out last night, tonight and tomorrow.

0:32:48 > 0:32:53- The bad thing is, the booze is free. - Is it?- Yeah. Magnums of vodka, champagne.- That'd be brilliant.

0:32:53 > 0:32:57- How come you don't go out so much now? - I done it all when I was younger.

0:32:57 > 0:32:59I used to go to bars when I was, like, 14.

0:32:59 > 0:33:01How did you get in? Fake ID?

0:33:01 > 0:33:06- No, just walked in. I've always looked older.- I was about to say.

0:33:06 > 0:33:12Like, with older people. So, like I say, I've done it all before and I'm sort of, like, bored of it.

0:33:12 > 0:33:19She used to be a massive party animal when she was, like, 14 years old. What was I doing at 14?

0:33:19 > 0:33:22Sort of parties without alcohol, completely different,

0:33:22 > 0:33:26whereas she'd be sat on her wall outside the house drinking cider and stuff.

0:33:26 > 0:33:28It's just different worlds.

0:33:28 > 0:33:34Despite the enormous gulf, tonight the Southerners are serving up their budget cuisine.

0:33:34 > 0:33:36But Lucy's got other things on her mind.

0:33:36 > 0:33:38Hello!

0:33:38 > 0:33:41- I've never had them done before. - Are they acrylic?

0:33:41 > 0:33:44- Apparently.- They're going to bugger your nails.- Oh, God...

0:33:44 > 0:33:46She's picking me some flowers, bless her!

0:33:46 > 0:33:48Tell her she'll get fined.

0:33:48 > 0:33:52Steph! Steph, stop doing that. You'll get fined.

0:33:52 > 0:33:55It's a council house and council garden. You'll get fined.

0:33:55 > 0:33:58I swear to God. How many are you...?

0:33:58 > 0:34:00THEY ALL GIGGLE

0:34:00 > 0:34:02She was like, "No way!"

0:34:02 > 0:34:06- How are you?- I'm fine. - I've brought you something.

0:34:06 > 0:34:09This is Newcastle's finest champagne.

0:34:09 > 0:34:15- That's battery acid that we can afford to drink. Geordie champagne. - How is the food coming on?

0:34:15 > 0:34:17We have decided to cook sausages.

0:34:17 > 0:34:23- Thank you! Because I'm absolutely clamming.- Clamming?- Yeah, it means starving.- Clamming?

0:34:23 > 0:34:27- Like, I'm absolutely clamming. It means starving.- Like a clam?

0:34:27 > 0:34:30- Like a clam, as in the seafood clam? - What clam?

0:34:30 > 0:34:34"Clam" is like "clammy" - it means sticky and gross.

0:34:34 > 0:34:37- No, clamming to us Geordies is, like, starving.- Ah!

0:34:37 > 0:34:39I think we're ready.

0:34:39 > 0:34:41So what will they make of their budget dinner?

0:34:41 > 0:34:44- THEY CHEER - Yeah!- Oh, we've got peas.

0:34:44 > 0:34:48Wow. I'm going to enjoy every last crumb of this.

0:34:48 > 0:34:53- How's the potato thing? What does it taste like? - It's really, really, really nice.

0:34:53 > 0:34:57- The plate pie is like quiche, but just with a pastry topping.- Mmm.

0:34:57 > 0:34:59It's so delicious.

0:34:59 > 0:35:02Seems like it hit the spot with both groups of girls.

0:35:02 > 0:35:05- The sausages are cracking. - The sausages are really nice.

0:35:05 > 0:35:07Them sausages are dead distinctive.

0:35:07 > 0:35:10- What does "distinctive" mean? - I don't know.

0:35:10 > 0:35:14- Well done, well done. - Aye. High-five on the meal.

0:35:14 > 0:35:19I'm not being funny, but when yous move out, I'm going to ask how much it is to rent this place.

0:35:19 > 0:35:23What do you do to get a council...? How do you go and apply for one?

0:35:23 > 0:35:25You go into the council and get a housing form,

0:35:25 > 0:35:30and it can take anywhere from weeks to months to years before you hear for a house.

0:35:30 > 0:35:34- I've been on the waiting list for absolute donkeys. - What are the priorities?

0:35:34 > 0:35:40Priorities, like, people with kids, people with issues, like drug and alcohol issues,

0:35:40 > 0:35:44- domestic violence.- It just goes on points and how many points you've got,

0:35:44 > 0:35:48and unless you're in danger or you've got five kids in a two-bedroom house,

0:35:48 > 0:35:52- you are not getting moved. - Even it it's really bad.- Yeah.

0:35:52 > 0:35:55Housing is just one problem affecting these Geordie girls.

0:35:55 > 0:36:00Trying to live on low wages or benefits means they often don't have enough to get by on.

0:36:00 > 0:36:05I really, really have to do a hell of a lot and I'm still left with not a penny.

0:36:05 > 0:36:11You don't go without sort of, you know, going to the pub for a drink or two?

0:36:11 > 0:36:13- Yeah.- Sometimes I have to walk to work

0:36:13 > 0:36:18because I haven't got a bus fare to get to work and I have to walk back.

0:36:18 > 0:36:21If I need to save money for, like, say it was Mother's Day,

0:36:21 > 0:36:27I've had to sit in for a couple of weeks so I know I've got money. I wish I could ring my parents and...

0:36:27 > 0:36:30My parents have had to sacrifice for my education.

0:36:30 > 0:36:36I mean, a boarding school of £26,000 a year doesn't come without sacrifice.

0:36:36 > 0:36:41My mother's gone without a wonderful wardrobe, my parents don't drive fancy cars,

0:36:41 > 0:36:45because they love me so much that they've given up all the things

0:36:45 > 0:36:51that they would quite like to have in their life, and could do, if they'd just sent me to state school.

0:36:51 > 0:36:57My mam and dad love me a lot, but they've got nowt to sacrifice, if you know what I mean!

0:36:57 > 0:37:00It's just different worlds. Different...

0:37:00 > 0:37:04- It's like living on two different planets, really.- It completely is.

0:37:04 > 0:37:06My ma's told me stories about when I was younger

0:37:06 > 0:37:12with my big sister, and she had, like, two bits of bread left and two eggs left for the whole week

0:37:12 > 0:37:15and she gave me and my sister it, and she starved for the whole week.

0:37:18 > 0:37:23It's been a full-on day, with lots of discoveries for the privileged girls.

0:37:23 > 0:37:28- They're coming to understand a bit about how the other half live. - Thank you very much for having us.

0:37:28 > 0:37:32I just couldn't believe it when they were saying that about the food.

0:37:32 > 0:37:36God, I felt sick. Like, all of us went to boarding school

0:37:36 > 0:37:42and how much our parents spent on school fees, let alone school dinners, and it's...

0:37:42 > 0:37:47Yeah, it's just insane... and different ball games.

0:37:47 > 0:37:51But they're not all completely sympathetic.

0:37:51 > 0:37:56It is heart-wrenching to think that people do actually live on the poverty line, or below it,

0:37:56 > 0:38:02and yet I find it very difficult to understand

0:38:02 > 0:38:05because I see them with BlackBerries

0:38:05 > 0:38:10and I see that they sort of have modern appliances in their houses.

0:38:10 > 0:38:16Whilst I can never appreciate what it must be like to live on as tight budget as they often do,

0:38:16 > 0:38:23um...I am mildly sceptical about where the money actually goes.

0:38:23 > 0:38:27I don't think they could imagine what it's like to be me at all.

0:38:27 > 0:38:31They'll have to spend more time with us to understand what it's like to be one of us,

0:38:31 > 0:38:36to understand what it's like to have your gas and electric run out, or work for what you want in life.

0:38:36 > 0:38:37It's really hard.

0:38:41 > 0:38:44Oh, my God, these bloody nails.

0:38:46 > 0:38:50I don't like them. I think they're really chavvy.

0:38:50 > 0:38:54So, now I'm stuck with these, like, giant talons.

0:38:54 > 0:38:58- They've wrecked everything. - Only cos you can't suck your thumb.

0:38:58 > 0:39:01- Yes.- Aw...- It looks horrible.

0:39:01 > 0:39:04Being forced to survive on jobseeker's allowance

0:39:04 > 0:39:07has made the girls resort to a packed lunch, Geordie-style...

0:39:07 > 0:39:10- It smells really good. - ..stottie with pease pudding.

0:39:10 > 0:39:12Basically, it's just bread.

0:39:12 > 0:39:17It looks a bit gross, but it didn't taste too bad. Oh, God.

0:39:17 > 0:39:21- I'm putting loads of cheese on yours for you.- Thanks, babe.

0:39:23 > 0:39:29The girls are making a good start at living on a budget, but they need to be tested further on fitting in.

0:39:29 > 0:39:33Today presents a perfect opportunity.

0:39:33 > 0:39:36It's match day in Newcastle...

0:39:37 > 0:39:42..the day when the Geordie nation is unified by the famous black and white stripes

0:39:42 > 0:39:45of the city's football club.

0:39:45 > 0:39:48But before the girls are let loose on the supporters,

0:39:48 > 0:39:53there's one area where they still need a little work - the Geordie language.

0:39:53 > 0:39:58Comedian and linguistic expert Simon Donald has been called in

0:39:58 > 0:40:02to provide their next lesson - Geordie elocution...

0:40:02 > 0:40:03Stand up, ladies.

0:40:03 > 0:40:04All of us?

0:40:04 > 0:40:06No, no - just the posh ones.

0:40:06 > 0:40:07ALL LAUGH

0:40:07 > 0:40:10That's why he said "ladies".

0:40:10 > 0:40:11..starting with a classic.

0:40:11 > 0:40:14How now brown cow.

0:40:14 > 0:40:16Can you say after me?

0:40:16 > 0:40:18- ALL:- How now brown cow.

0:40:18 > 0:40:23Right. Hoo noo broon coo.

0:40:23 > 0:40:26- ALL:- Hoo noo broon coo.

0:40:26 > 0:40:28- Hoo...- Hoo.- Noo...- Noo.

0:40:28 > 0:40:32- Broon...- Broon...- I can't. - Coo.- Coo.

0:40:32 > 0:40:34THEY GIGGLE

0:40:34 > 0:40:38It's changing your mouth, cos you're like, hoo noo broon coo.

0:40:38 > 0:40:39Try saying "pher-ter".

0:40:39 > 0:40:41Pherter.

0:40:41 > 0:40:42"Copy-a".

0:40:42 > 0:40:44- ALL:- Copy-a.

0:40:44 > 0:40:45So, one, two, three.

0:40:45 > 0:40:47(GEORDIE ACCENT) Photo-copier.

0:40:47 > 0:40:50By Geordie, I think they've got it!

0:40:50 > 0:40:55- Got to think of something useful to teach these girls. One sentence? - From this area? Fuck right off.

0:40:55 > 0:40:57Do one.

0:40:57 > 0:41:01There is a different attitude towards swearing around the country.

0:41:01 > 0:41:07That may be one area where you will maybe struggle to fit in.

0:41:07 > 0:41:08OK.

0:41:08 > 0:41:11Come up with four expressions to teach your partners.

0:41:11 > 0:41:16There's a lot of Geordie to get to grips with. Like the sounds...

0:41:16 > 0:41:18- "Seh".- Say.- "Seh".- Say.

0:41:18 > 0:41:20- Pet.- Pet!

0:41:20 > 0:41:21..the expressions...

0:41:21 > 0:41:23Pet, ya kna shy bairns get noot.

0:41:23 > 0:41:26Ya kna shy bairns get noot.

0:41:26 > 0:41:29- Noot.- Noot! - ..and of course the swearing.

0:41:29 > 0:41:33- (GEORDIE ACCENT):- You fuckin' takin' the piss!

0:41:33 > 0:41:34- Ya daft- BLEEP!

0:41:34 > 0:41:38I love swearing in Geordie, it's so much more fun!

0:41:38 > 0:41:41Oh, God, my parents are going to watch this.

0:41:41 > 0:41:45After a morning of practice, Simon is happy to pass them,

0:41:45 > 0:41:47with one last bit of advice.

0:41:47 > 0:41:53The people of Newcastle are very friendly when it comes to everything unless you look at them funny.

0:41:53 > 0:41:55Basically, snobbery is one thing they don't like.

0:41:55 > 0:42:01So, let's see if you can go out into the wilds of Newcastle and use what you've learned.

0:42:01 > 0:42:05- ALL:- Thank you very much! - Lovely to meet you all!

0:42:05 > 0:42:08Time to try out their new skills on the Geordie nation.

0:42:10 > 0:42:15Can the Southerners really fit in amongst the local football supporters?

0:42:16 > 0:42:20I want you to experience the whole culture o' Geordieland.

0:42:20 > 0:42:23This is a great way to do it, by gan to the match.

0:42:23 > 0:42:25Everybody up for it?

0:42:25 > 0:42:27- ALL:- Yeah!

0:42:27 > 0:42:30Huffty is leading them to a busy bar in the stadium.

0:42:30 > 0:42:33Supporters are called the Toon Army.

0:42:33 > 0:42:35Why is it "toon"?

0:42:35 > 0:42:37As in "town".

0:42:37 > 0:42:40- Ah! You're Town Army?- Toon Army.

0:42:40 > 0:42:46Eager to fit in, or after a souvenir, the girls set their hearts on replica shirts.

0:42:46 > 0:42:48Can you afford shirts?

0:42:48 > 0:42:53- I don't know. How much are they? - About £35.- That's what I've got for the next ten days.

0:42:53 > 0:42:56They certainly can't afford £35 on their benefits.

0:42:56 > 0:42:58Does anyone want to buy me a shirt?!

0:42:58 > 0:43:01But these girls are canny lasses.

0:43:01 > 0:43:04They find ones in the sale for a fiver.

0:43:06 > 0:43:09It's an unnecessary purchase

0:43:09 > 0:43:12but as a Newcastle fan, Huffty isn't going to lecture them.

0:43:12 > 0:43:15Lasses, I am so proud of yous. Honestly!

0:43:15 > 0:43:18You're really getting into the Toon Army spirit.

0:43:18 > 0:43:21If you were going to blow your benefit on anything,

0:43:21 > 0:43:27blowing them on Newcastle United tops, that's the way to gan, lasses! That's the way to gan.

0:43:27 > 0:43:28Shauna, take care of them!

0:43:29 > 0:43:31Come on, then!

0:43:34 > 0:43:38Remembering what they've learned about avoiding giving dirty looks,

0:43:38 > 0:43:43- the posh girls launch a Southern charm offensive. - Do you like our T-shirts?

0:43:43 > 0:43:47They discover Geordie guys are rather eager to chat with them...

0:43:49 > 0:43:51..and to help them hone their skills.

0:43:51 > 0:43:54The bairn's all hacky from larking in the clarts.

0:43:54 > 0:43:56The bairn is all...

0:43:56 > 0:43:58- Hacky.- ..hacky...

0:43:58 > 0:44:01- From... - ..from larking in the mart.

0:44:01 > 0:44:02- In the clarts. - In the clarts?

0:44:02 > 0:44:04- Yes.- What's clarts?

0:44:04 > 0:44:07- Mud.- How is clarts mud?

0:44:07 > 0:44:09You're, like, "I don't make it up!"

0:44:09 > 0:44:11That's just what it is!

0:44:11 > 0:44:16This particular test's gone more smoothly for Fiona than the other girls.

0:44:16 > 0:44:20- We did talk to a few Geordie men. - They were hammered, to be honest.

0:44:20 > 0:44:22Yeah, they were all a bit hammered.

0:44:22 > 0:44:26So, like, the accent was even harder to understand.

0:44:27 > 0:44:31The men were friendly, though, weren't they? They were really friendly to me.

0:44:31 > 0:44:34Why's that funny?

0:44:34 > 0:44:36Why's that funny, babe?

0:44:51 > 0:44:57The posh girls have now been living on the equivalent of benefits for three days.

0:44:57 > 0:45:02They may not all be dressing like Geordies, but they've succeeded in feeling at ease in the city.

0:45:02 > 0:45:08And their eyes are starting to open to some of the issues of hardship in disadvantaged areas,

0:45:08 > 0:45:11particularly when it comes to their Geordie guides.

0:45:11 > 0:45:1620-year-old youth worker Lyndsey has invited Lucy to meet some of her family.

0:45:17 > 0:45:19Hiya. You all right?

0:45:19 > 0:45:20Yeah.

0:45:20 > 0:45:23Welcome. Come in. It's just through there.

0:45:23 > 0:45:25Oh, hi!

0:45:25 > 0:45:30- This is Paul, me little brother, and Christina. They're twins.- Hi.- Hi.

0:45:30 > 0:45:33Growing up in a single-parent family,

0:45:33 > 0:45:37Lyndsey took on a lot of responsibility at a very young age.

0:45:37 > 0:45:41I found meself looking after the younger brother and sister.

0:45:41 > 0:45:44Taking 'em to school and stuff. Making sure they were safe.

0:45:44 > 0:45:46You put them before yourself.

0:45:46 > 0:45:47That's so nice.

0:45:47 > 0:45:53'It's just something I do and it's something that's actually helped us a lot in me life now.

0:45:53 > 0:45:55'Although it's hard, it's...did nae harm to me.'

0:45:57 > 0:45:59Well, I don't think it did, anyway!

0:46:00 > 0:46:04We've always been like a family where we help each other

0:46:04 > 0:46:10and it was just normal, like, to watch the bairn for half an hour.

0:46:12 > 0:46:15As a big sister, Lyndsey has always acted as a role model,

0:46:15 > 0:46:19although they still remember when she wasn't a good one.

0:46:19 > 0:46:21Do you remember when me mam tried to ground her?

0:46:21 > 0:46:24She jumped out of the top window of the house.

0:46:24 > 0:46:27She had inches, like, these inch-high heels

0:46:27 > 0:46:30and she jumped out the window cos me ma tried to ground her.

0:46:30 > 0:46:33She told me she was a party animal when she was younger.

0:46:33 > 0:46:35Do you go out? Are you like a mini-Lyndsey?

0:46:35 > 0:46:37Aye.

0:46:37 > 0:46:39She goes out with her friends and that

0:46:39 > 0:46:43but obviously when I've... She'll see me do it all so I think...

0:46:43 > 0:46:45Well, have you learnt your lesson?

0:46:45 > 0:46:48I don't normally drink on street corners.

0:46:48 > 0:46:50Your friends do.

0:46:50 > 0:46:51Me friends do, I don't.

0:46:51 > 0:46:55I've seen it all with Lyndsey, I don't want to go through that!

0:46:55 > 0:47:00Meeting Lyndsey has changed my opinion on the girls that I thought would be up here completely.

0:47:00 > 0:47:02I didn't realise how hard it really was.

0:47:02 > 0:47:06I don't know, like, I don't think I'd be able to do what she's done.

0:47:08 > 0:47:13So far in Newcastle, the girls have been hearing about what it means to grow up with little money.

0:47:16 > 0:47:19Now Huffty wants to push them even further.

0:47:19 > 0:47:23Drug abuse is a common problem that deprived communities have to live alongside.

0:47:25 > 0:47:29At 16, Natalie moved to Newcastle from Greece for a better education

0:47:29 > 0:47:32but ended up developing a drug habit.

0:47:32 > 0:47:35Her mum Nouli has been trying to get her off heroin

0:47:35 > 0:47:36for the last five years.

0:47:36 > 0:47:41Natalie has been given a new flat to help her find some independence,

0:47:41 > 0:47:43and Huffty wants the girls to help do it up.

0:47:43 > 0:47:48- Hello. Come on in. - Thank you very much.

0:47:48 > 0:47:53- Lasses, I'd like to introduce youth to Nouli. ALL:- Hello.

0:47:53 > 0:47:57- And this is her daughter Natalie, and this is Natalie's flat.- Hi.

0:47:57 > 0:48:03- So, do you want to be getting your gear on?- Yes. - We'll get down to some hard work.

0:48:03 > 0:48:07While Steph and Lucy get to work on the garden,

0:48:07 > 0:48:10Fiona and Fi begin painting the bathroom.

0:48:12 > 0:48:17These are all jobs Natalie can't do on her own as she has limited mobility.

0:48:17 > 0:48:20Do you mind telling us what is going on with your leg?

0:48:20 > 0:48:24I've had six operations on it. That's one of them.

0:48:24 > 0:48:30- I have had one underneath. Ow! - Careful, don't hurt yourself. - How did it start?

0:48:31 > 0:48:32Drug use, basically.

0:48:32 > 0:48:36When I was young, I done a lot of naughty things.

0:48:36 > 0:48:39You injected heroin in your leg?

0:48:39 > 0:48:43In my groin, to be exact, because I really hammered my arms...

0:48:43 > 0:48:44- Yeah.- ..as you can tell.

0:48:44 > 0:48:46I had loads of abscesses.

0:48:46 > 0:48:49Oh, my God, it was like really gross,

0:48:49 > 0:48:54like clumps of blood and crap just squirting out my arms

0:48:54 > 0:48:55all over the place.

0:48:55 > 0:48:58How did the whole thing start? How old were you?

0:48:59 > 0:49:05Well, from about 16 onwards. I did use for about ten years, on and off.

0:49:05 > 0:49:07How old are you now?

0:49:07 > 0:49:08I'm 31.

0:49:09 > 0:49:11That looks great.

0:49:12 > 0:49:16Mum Nouli was living in Greece when she heard her daughter was in a lot of trouble.

0:49:16 > 0:49:19She dropped everything.

0:49:20 > 0:49:23You must have been so kind of cut up?

0:49:23 > 0:49:29Yes. It's a very, very bad thing for human nature, you know, drugs.

0:49:29 > 0:49:31It can really destroy you.

0:49:31 > 0:49:35It can really destroy your character, your life.

0:49:35 > 0:49:36Did you see her take drugs?

0:49:36 > 0:49:40Yes, of course. I see her taking drugs

0:49:40 > 0:49:42and I see her overdose and...

0:49:42 > 0:49:45Did she ever ask you to... because I know sometimes they do,

0:49:45 > 0:49:48they ask you, please, they're begging you to help?

0:49:48 > 0:49:50I did have sometimes to give her money to get drugs.

0:49:50 > 0:49:55The dealer was downstairs and was expecting some money otherwise he would beat her,

0:49:55 > 0:49:58so I had to give her, you know?

0:49:58 > 0:50:02That's incredible. I don't know like... I'm sure my mum would do that...

0:50:02 > 0:50:04- She'd do exactly the same. - Really?

0:50:04 > 0:50:08Yes, because when you are a child is in this position,

0:50:08 > 0:50:11it is so painful to see your child so vulnerable.

0:50:11 > 0:50:16It's not as simple as drugs. It's the way she is after she does drugs.

0:50:16 > 0:50:18Everybody can exploit her.

0:50:18 > 0:50:21Everybody can...can abuse her.

0:50:21 > 0:50:25Has she suffered sort of violence?

0:50:25 > 0:50:28She did, yes, of course, because she was in the streets.

0:50:28 > 0:50:32- Was she really? - She was beaten, she was raped.

0:50:32 > 0:50:34- She's been raped?- Of course.

0:50:35 > 0:50:37My God.

0:50:37 > 0:50:38You're so brave.

0:50:40 > 0:50:42I had no choice...have I?

0:50:43 > 0:50:48- How did you buy the drugs? - I did do prostitution, yeah. And other things.

0:50:50 > 0:50:53So I'm staying away from that now.

0:50:53 > 0:50:58I'm trying to survive but... Oh, don't cry. Come here. It's OK, don't cry.

0:50:58 > 0:51:00Oh...

0:51:00 > 0:51:02Don't cry. I don't do it any more.

0:51:02 > 0:51:05I know, but it's just so sad.

0:51:05 > 0:51:10Well, a lot of women have to still do it, you know, so it's out there.

0:51:10 > 0:51:12But my mum turned everything around.

0:51:12 > 0:51:17She got me somewhere to stay and she's done a lot for me.

0:51:17 > 0:51:19I'm sorry I upset you. I'm emotional, too.

0:51:19 > 0:51:21Sorry!

0:51:21 > 0:51:24All the painting has gone down the hill.

0:51:24 > 0:51:29It doesn't matter, it's OK, don't worry. You've done most of it. It looks really nice.

0:51:29 > 0:51:31We've got loads more to do, though.

0:51:32 > 0:51:36Natalie has been clean of heroin for ten months.

0:51:36 > 0:51:40In the bathroom, the chat has turned to future plans.

0:51:40 > 0:51:42I get married next year.

0:51:42 > 0:51:46I've actually bought a wedding dress - I found it in a cheap shop.

0:51:46 > 0:51:47- Have you?- Yeah.

0:51:47 > 0:51:51- Have you got it? - I sort of put it on sometimes.

0:51:51 > 0:51:55- Where is it? - I'm never going to get married. It's in my wardrobe.

0:51:55 > 0:51:56- Do you want to see it?- Yeah!

0:51:56 > 0:51:57Come on. Bedroom.

0:51:59 > 0:52:04- I'm obsessed with wedding dresses. - So am I! It actually fits me, and shit.

0:52:04 > 0:52:05It's in here somewhere. Ah!

0:52:05 > 0:52:09- I've even got the shoes that go with it.- Oh, my God.

0:52:09 > 0:52:14- How pretty is that?- No way! - You can't say you'll never get married. You might get married.

0:52:14 > 0:52:18You've got to have money to do things like that, and I don't.

0:52:18 > 0:52:22- But honestly, 20 quid, how cool is that?- That's so cute.

0:52:22 > 0:52:26- I love that you have a wedding dress. I love that. - Do you want to borrow it?

0:52:27 > 0:52:34- Hiya. Oh, wow.- We're getting there. We're getting there.- It looks really good. Hello, strawberry plants.

0:52:34 > 0:52:35How are you finding it?

0:52:35 > 0:52:37SHE EXHALES

0:52:37 > 0:52:39Yeah, me, too.

0:52:39 > 0:52:40It's...

0:52:42 > 0:52:44- It's just brutal.- Yeah.

0:52:44 > 0:52:47I don't think I've ever met somebody who said to me,

0:52:47 > 0:52:51"I did... I was in prostitution to pay for anything," really.

0:52:55 > 0:52:57Wow, that is really looking nice.

0:52:57 > 0:52:59I'm going to be very proud of my garden.

0:52:59 > 0:53:03You hear about things like that and you read about things like that,

0:53:03 > 0:53:06but you don't sit in the same room as someone

0:53:06 > 0:53:11that basically is brave enough to tell you all the things that have happened, and stuff,

0:53:11 > 0:53:13things she's done to get drugs.

0:53:13 > 0:53:17'I really hope that she kind of stays clean

0:53:17 > 0:53:20'and can stay in this house, and things.'

0:53:20 > 0:53:24The council giving money to make her better, for me,

0:53:24 > 0:53:26is a like a good reason, you know,

0:53:26 > 0:53:31and I think there definitely should be enough money from councils

0:53:31 > 0:53:34for people that are fixing themselves like this,

0:53:34 > 0:53:38instead of wasted on people that maybe don't deserve it as much as she does.

0:53:38 > 0:53:43This experience is proving a lot tougher than they expected.

0:53:43 > 0:53:45Oh, no, I'm going to cry.

0:53:48 > 0:53:51Just can't think of, like, how...

0:53:51 > 0:53:56I mean, sure, her life must have been just awful, to turn and do that.

0:53:56 > 0:53:59Cos, like, I just can't think that I would ever, ever...

0:54:00 > 0:54:02I can't speak!

0:54:02 > 0:54:05..like I would ever turn to that, and she did,

0:54:05 > 0:54:07and oh God, it upset me so much,

0:54:09 > 0:54:11cos I think that's, like, the worst thing,

0:54:11 > 0:54:15the most degrading thing for a girl to go through.

0:54:22 > 0:54:25It's been four days since they enrolled at the Geordie Finishing School.

0:54:25 > 0:54:30The four privileged girls from down south are just beginning to experience

0:54:30 > 0:54:32the hardships of life on the breadline.

0:54:32 > 0:54:36Huffty has called the four Geordie girls together to find out

0:54:36 > 0:54:39how they think the Southerners have been doing.

0:54:39 > 0:54:42- Who do you think IS being the most genuine? ALL:- Fiona.

0:54:42 > 0:54:45- Why?- I don't know. It's just the way she is.

0:54:45 > 0:54:49- She's very comfortable talking, isn't she?- And she swears!

0:54:49 > 0:54:53- It's a bonus, isn't it? - Yeah, she swears.

0:54:53 > 0:54:58Who do think is the most scared by what they've seen?

0:54:58 > 0:55:00- Steph.- I think Lucy.

0:55:00 > 0:55:03I think Lucy as well. I think she's the most frightened.

0:55:03 > 0:55:08When she's saying something, she's putting her point across but not fully.

0:55:08 > 0:55:10- Who's finding it the hardest? - That would be Lucy.

0:55:10 > 0:55:13Finding it the hardest would be Lucy.

0:55:13 > 0:55:18Sometimes when she's like talking, I feel like when I'm on about things, she just sits back...

0:55:18 > 0:55:21She'll take it all in and not give it.

0:55:21 > 0:55:25Sometimes I think like, oh God, does she feel intimidated?

0:55:25 > 0:55:29She'll give her opinion but not her full opinion. She kind of holds back.

0:55:29 > 0:55:30She will say some things

0:55:30 > 0:55:34but I think she kind of holds her tongue in case she offends any of us.

0:55:34 > 0:55:37Let wur see what they're like after a drink.

0:55:37 > 0:55:41Let their true colours flow - that's when we'll see what they think of us,

0:55:41 > 0:55:42Newcastle, wur homes and wur area.

0:55:42 > 0:55:47Next time, the drink does start flowing at a proper Geordie house party...

0:55:47 > 0:55:50I just can't believe how smashed everyone gets!

0:55:50 > 0:55:52ALL CHEER

0:55:52 > 0:55:56- We don't have house parties quite like this.- Yeah!

0:55:56 > 0:56:00Next time you're going to think before you say the word "spunk".

0:56:02 > 0:56:05..they get a taste of some messy work experience...

0:56:05 > 0:56:08They made me not want a job even more.

0:56:08 > 0:56:11- ..and not everyone's happy... - We're getting taken to this horrendous pub.

0:56:11 > 0:56:14..when the boot's on the other foot.

0:56:14 > 0:56:19- It does really good things for your boobs, babes. - Aye, and I look dead skinny.- Ooh!

0:56:19 > 0:56:22At the end of the day, I feel a million dollars in me dress,

0:56:22 > 0:56:24so I don't give a fuck what anyone says.

0:56:43 > 0:56:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:56:47 > 0:56:50E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk