Episode 1 Geordie Finishing School for Girls


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Newcastle upon Tyne, cultural capital of the Northeast,

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and famously a party city.

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This programme contains some strong language.

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But it's also home to some of the most deprived areas in the whole of the UK.

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In the Northeast, we have the highest unemployment rate in the country.

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A quarter of children in the Northeast live below the poverty line.

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It's soon to be home to four posh girls from down South.

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We should all have jobs. I don't really want one.

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Increasingly, British society is divided between the haves...

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I quite like the gold Rolex.

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..and the have-nots.

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There's been times when I've not even had the money to put gas and electric on.

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I've had no choice but to be on benefit.

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And with the two sides mixing less and less, there's more risk of prejudice.

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You lazy buggers. Get off your arse and go to work.

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Most rich people really are stuck-up.

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Cheers.

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Over the next ten days, these privileged young ladies

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will learn about life on the breadline with the help of four Geordie guides.

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They'll get a first-class Geordie education from their Northern sisters...

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-Shy bairns get noot.

-Noot.

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..and acquire new skills.

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It's good to see them doing some hard graft labour, innit?

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Sparkling.

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But there's a whole lot to learn when they enrol at the Geordie Finishing School for Girls.

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I don't know how people do this.

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Oh, no, I'm going to cry.

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Four affluent young ladies from the South of England are heading north into the unknown.

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-That's not going to work.

-They'll be swapping their cosseted lives and designer clothes.

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For ten days, they'll experience what it's like living on jobseeker's allowance in some of most

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disadvantaged wards in the country.

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I've never been north of Cardiff, I've never been on a public bus

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and I've definitely never been on a council estate.

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21-year-old Steph is a politics student and competitive rower.

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I'm expecting to find grey buildings and grey roads and grey sky,

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a sort of grey ambience of miserable sort of dreariness.

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20-year-old Fi is a drama student,

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whose daddy is an international banker.

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Oh, no, I missed it.

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I've always been in the south

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and I've grown up here so it's kind of in my comfort zone.

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It's literally like I'm going into a blank space.

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That's what I'm most scared about, not knowing.

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That's my rabbit coat.

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24-year-old Lucy, a financier's daughter,

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works as an events manager.

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I've never been to Geordie land, but I imagine they would probably wear

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some matching tracksuits, hoodies, trampy styles.

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I hope it's going to be safe.

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Ten days...

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I'm really scared when I think about it.

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# I'll let you be a fool for me. #

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24-year-old singer-songwriter Fiona is engaged to a banker.

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I know that there's a high level of teen pregnancy in the North.

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I don't know why. Less to do maybe?

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It's the morning of enrolment. The four girls are taking their first tentative steps

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towards a world they've only ever heard about.

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-I love you.

-I love you, too, baby.

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Bye-bye, babe.

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I don't want to go.

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-Have a wonderful time.

-Bye.

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I want to turn back. Oh, my God.

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SIREN WAILS

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For the first few days of their finishing school experience,

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the posh girls will be exposed to the effects of poverty

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on a section of British society they would rarely ever meet.

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

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Guiding the Southern girls through the whole experience is Huffty,

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something of a local legend when it comes to youth work in the city.

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So you don't want to do contraception?

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Marni, you've got a baby.

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With over 20 years' experience of helping young people, she's out to challenge some negative stereotypes.

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Very good, Lucy, and what are you going to do at university?

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The Geordie stereotype is that we're all lazy, on the dole,

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we're chavs, or charvers, as we say up here,

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and we all have millions of kids before we're 21.

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The reality is that we're friendly, straight-talking, we've got a great sense of community,

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and that's why it's really important for these Southern lasses

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to come up here and find out what's right and what's wrong.

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Helping Huffty to show the posh girls around Newcastle are four young women,

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who have grown up on some of the most disadvantaged streets in the city.

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How are you feeling about the fact that these girls might feel a little bit prejudiced about yous?

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I've always been taught to treat people with respect

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and let them state their opinion, because I think everybody's allowed to have their own opinion.

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18-year-old Shauna grew up in Newcastle's best-known council area,

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-Byker.

-This here is the Byker Wall.

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I wouldn't walk through the Byker Wall on my own at night. Oh, no.

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I'm not really bothered about money, to be honest.

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Money can only buy you certain things.

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It can't buy you, like, family and things like that and friends.

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They come from wealthy backgrounds. Everything's handed them on a plate and they'll talk like this.

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And they'll turn up with a Gucci bag and Prada this and all the rest of it.

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I can guarantee that mam and dad put a grand in their bank every month.

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Unemployed, single, and a mum of two, life on benefits

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is a daily battle for Makylea.

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Everything's a struggle, thinking, "Oh, where's tomorrow's meal going to come from?"

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

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-What do you say?

-Thank you. Cheers.

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Er, cheers?

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OK, so what do you think if they start calling you things like "charvers"?

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I'd say, "I'm proud to be a charver."

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-Very good, Lyndsey.

-I'd say, "I'm proud to be a charver."

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I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not a charver charver, but...I am who I am.

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Youth worker Lyndsey came up the hard way

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on the city's toughest estates.

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Me mouth got us into a lot of trouble.

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I was sort of the ringleader and I led people astray, really.

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Where I'm from, if you're posh, you're either a policeman, social services, council.

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There's definitely prejudice about people with posh accents.

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We'll have them swearing. By the time they go back down, they'll be different people.

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I bet their mothers and fathers will be, "Damned disgrace!"

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Kimberley is 20 and lives with

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her large close-knit family and her young son.

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I think I suffer Tourette's syndrome.

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Hey, that's my downfall, it's just the swearing.

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They will be shocked, but we'll make them feel welcome.

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We'll not push them out and we'll not make them feel like outsiders one bit.

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How do you think they're going to feel when they arrive in Newcastle?

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-I think they'll shit theirselves.

-Aye.

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The first of the Southern girls to arrive is Lucy.

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I just... I can't believe this is really happening.

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What have I let myself in for?

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The Northeast suffers the highest rate of unemployment in the UK and it's a situation due to worsen

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following recent public sector job cuts.

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I'm thinking really bad thoughts right now.

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For the next ten days, the girls will be living in

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an ex-council house in the disadvantaged ward of Walker.

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The area has the worst unemployment in Newcastle at 18%.

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Oh, my God.

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Recently refurbished, the des res here is nevertheless a world away from life in Chelsea.

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Oh, my God.

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Oh, my God.

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Next Southerner up, Fiona Culley, gets her first glimpse of the North.

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In your head, like, you'll paint it out like

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you're going to be somewhere really scary, so you work it all out.

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This is just, like, pretty normal to me.

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Oh, my God.

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-Hello.

-Hello.

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-I'm Lucy.

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

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Come and have a look round.

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-Ooh, bunk beds.

-Yes.

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Ah, it's kind of like being at school again.

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-Yeah, did you board?

-Yeah.

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And there's a little bathroom.

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As the girls make themselves at home, at the Women's Centre,

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the Geordies are about to find out who they've been paired with.

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First up is Fiona Culley.

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By looking at that, I think she's going to be very well-spoken, like very, "Oh, gosh, that's ghastly."

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-Stuck-up.

-"Oh, gosh, she's got two children. Oh, no!"

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-Lyndsey gets Lucy.

-Wow!

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-She looks wild.

-Party animal.

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She looks like she's had her tits done, doesn't she?

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She looks a bit, like, ditsy.

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She's the sort of person I'd think would walk round the Jubilee estate

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with iPod out and her black beret, and wave it about and stuff like that.

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You know what I mean? She's not really streetwise.

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They've got no internet here.

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-Might need to be outside.

-Hm.

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While they wait for their final two housemates, Lucy and Fiona decide to brave Walker.

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-Everyone's staring at us.

-It's because we're blonde, that's it.

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This is different to Waitrose.

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Oh, my God, that is vile.

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Bacon grill. What is that?

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-Do you know, like, what this stuff...

-You know what spam is.

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-Course you know what that is.

-It's, like, weird meat.

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-It's ham.

-Is it kept in a tin? I just don't understand.

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-It lasts for a very long time.

-Mmm.

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-Just in case.

-Are there any 24-hour shops round here?

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-Not round here, no.

-No, OK.

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-Thank you.

-Thank you.

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-Shauna is partnered with Fi Wishart.

-Looks like she lives on a farm.

-She lives on a farm.

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She doesn't look rich.

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-And, Kimberley.

-And Kimberley will be with Stephanie Hislop.

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-Daddy's diamonds.

-And that shirt was at least 100 quid.

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Them boots have got to be at least 100.

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All-in-all about £500 for an outfit that she's got on there.

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Worried that the posh girls will stand out on the estates,

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-Huffty sets the Geordies the task of finding clothes to help them blend in.

-Bargain hunting here we come.

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-Aye, Primani.

-Primani!

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With just £30 to dress each posh girl, the Geordies head into town looking for bargains.

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-Leggings.... Where's the leggings?

-Here.

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-They're jeggings.

-But I cannae can't find...

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Choosing the right clothes for her Southerner might be tricky for Lyndsey.

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Lucy's a girl with expensive tastes.

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She likes to shop in London's smartest boutiques.

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-How much is it, again?

-Like 400 quid. It's like another coat, isn't it?

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I love the shoes. They're adorable. I love them.

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So about 800, and the shoes 250.

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I'll just call Mummy.

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I've never really actually needed to work.

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My father is very generous and sort of made provisions for me

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so that money's never really that much of an issue.

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From the picture, she looked like she dresses up a lot and likes a lot of glitter and

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make-up, so I bought her jeans and a hoodie just to dress her down a bit.

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Mine comes from a farm so I'll get her some dungarees.

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-I would wear that.

-We would wear this so it's comfortable but it's not trying to go OTT.

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Kimberly has a treat in store for Steph.

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If she turned her nose up, I'd drag her in the bathroom and she'd have no choice to get them on.

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I went out shopping for them. It took us hours.

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Why did I have to get the long one?

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That's me sorted. I'm not changing my mind.

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That's it. I'm sorted.

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-I want some bracelets.

-Some bracelets?

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She needs a bit of bling in her life.

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Back at the house, the third posh girl has arrived...

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..and it hasn't taken Steph long to get stuck in.

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Jolly nice, actually.

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With a few basics already in the house,

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this is the last food they'll cook without worrying about the bill.

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Girls, do you want some more?

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I'm OK, thanks. Help yourself.

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-Hi.

-Drama student Fi Wishart is the final girl to arrive.

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You need to drink wine after you've travelled.

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I'm so tired.

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I missed it. What were you doing?

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I was at home seeing a performance.

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I'm excited about bunk beds.

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-That has excited me.

-Yeah?

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-Did you go to boarding school?

-Yeah.

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-So you're used to bunk beds.

-Definitely.

-Everyone's in the same boat.

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Everyone's gone, "Bunk beds, fine."

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-Haven't had them for ten years...

-Yeah, I know.

-..but still.

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The four posh girls have no idea what to expect from their Geordie finishing school experience.

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-How are you?

-Champion, thank you.

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So Huffty comes round to give them the low-down.

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So welcome to Newcastle, lasses.

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-Thank you.

-I can't do anything but applaud yous. I think yous are dead brave.

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Huffty wants them to manage on £73.87p, the equivalent of jobseeker's allowance.

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After deductions for basics already in the house, their budget has shrunk to £59.

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-Each or...?

-Each, yeah.

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-So that's what you're going to survive on.

-For ten days?

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-For ten days.

-59. Compared to what I'm used to in London,

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that's unreal.

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How much would £59 normally last you, then, Lucy?

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I don't even want to say. I'm so embarrassed.

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-Two days.

-Two days, yeah.

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To make sure they don't get tempted, Huffty's taking their cash and credit cards for safekeeping.

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And for their safety, she wants their jewellery, too.

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There's lots of issues in this area with drug and alcohol abuse, antisocial behaviour.

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It's not an area that you might be used to.

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For an example, last week, there was a lad who was stripped naked

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by a bloke who robbed him on the street cos he liked his trainers,

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he liked his Levi jeans and he liked his tracksuit top.

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Now, if that's for some clothes, what are they going to be like when they see your jewellery?

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It's real.

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For Fiona, giving over her jewellery isn't easy.

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She's just got engaged with a dazzling ring.

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Congratulations.

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-It's coming off, though, isn't it?

-It is, because I don't want your finger to be chopped off.

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-And Huffty has another proposal to stop them standing out.

-Steph.

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-The clothes the Geordie girls chose for them.

-Lucy.

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-I've got a really mumsy outfit.

-Oh, that's really cool.

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Strange - I don't really wear casual clothes.

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Do we have to wear these clothes tomorrow?

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Well, they were picked for you especially by your Geordie lasses,

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erm, individually. So, it's up to you. They picked them for you.

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It'd be rude not to, especially if they've picked it out for us, too.

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Good. So get a good night's sleep and I look forward to seeing yous all tomorrow, right?

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I'm going to try all these on before I go to bed.

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Who turns up to live in Walker, in Newcastle,

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with a big rock like that on their finger?

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I mean, 99.9% of Geordies are lovely, friendly people.

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And dead honest.

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But you've got the odd radge who'd take exception to that - they'd take it off her finger.

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They'd take her finger, too. It's absolutely ridiculous.

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DOG BARKS

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It's day one of Finishing School,

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time for their Geordie fashion makeover.

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I feel like Jessie J... # Jessie J! #

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I feel a bit like a moron right now.

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I've got some amazing jewellery, which will replace my rings.

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SHE SIGHS

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Oop!

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I think it's going to replace the diamond nicely!

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And what does Steph make of Kim's personal shopping?

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I think she's done really well. This is really nice.

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Excellent.

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For Officer Training Corps Cadet Steph Hislop, university life

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is all about getting stuck in.

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If I had to summarise my lifestyle...

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it would be Carpe Diem, which is Latin for "seize the day".

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She thinks the trip north could boost her career,

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which she hopes will start in the Civil Service.

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In my day-to-day life, I do not meet working class people by and large.

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And to have a very thorough and detailed understanding of how the rest of society works,

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will be very beneficial to me in my future political career.

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Before classes begin, the privileged girls' first challenge is to go

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and knock for the Geordie they've been paired with.

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Armed with scant directions and their benefit money,

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they have to cross the alien city on their own

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-and into the council estate of a girl they've never met before.

-I don't know where I am.

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For the first time in their lives, their money isn't protecting them.

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Oh, no! I don't want to go.

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-I don't want to go to the bus stop!

-Why not?!

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Cos everyone's going to be looking at me funny.

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Steph is determined to see the positives.

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The area's absolutely charming, I haven't seen any sign of poverty yet.

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-If I wanted to go to Granger Street, am I on the right side of the road?

-Yeah, you are.

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-I am? Smashing. Thanks very much.

-No bother.

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Charming. Delightful. Really, really friendly.

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And absolutely gorgeous!

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With no knowledge of the area, Lucy's succeeded in making it as far as the notorious Rye Hill Estate

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and the family home of her guide, Lyndsey.

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Probably aren't very many Chelsea girls walking along the road

0:19:240:19:27

with bloody tweed on and a Louis Vuitton handbag!

0:19:270:19:30

-I'm scared.

-Once one of the most run-down estates in Newcastle and a crime black spot,

0:19:320:19:38

Rye Hill was a no-go area for outsiders,

0:19:380:19:41

because of girls like Lyndsey.

0:19:410:19:43

A lot of people would say I was trouble. When I was younger, aye.

0:19:430:19:48

My middle name was trouble.

0:19:480:19:50

I got led into different things,

0:19:530:19:56

like taking drugs and, um, drinking a lot,

0:19:560:20:01

doing things that I shouldn't have been doing really.

0:20:010:20:05

I got in trouble with the police quite a lot. Pretty normal.

0:20:050:20:09

If you got arrested it was like, "She's been nicked again. What has she done now?"

0:20:090:20:14

Lyndsey's now turned things around and trained as a youth worker,

0:20:150:20:19

helping kids stay out of trouble.

0:20:190:20:22

-Hello.

-Hi, I'm Lucy

0:20:220:20:24

Thanks so much for my clothes. Look, I'm wearing them.

0:20:240:20:27

-Are you wearing them? Do you like them?

-I love them.

0:20:270:20:30

I definitely had the coolest.

0:20:300:20:31

Everyone was like, "Ah, you've got a really good outfit."

0:20:310:20:35

-I've got that top actually.

-It's really nice.

0:20:350:20:37

-Do you like your earrings?

-Oh, yeah, look.

0:20:370:20:40

Lyndsey wants to teach Lucy how tough things can be growing up here.

0:20:400:20:45

This is the main square where we used to knock about.

0:20:450:20:48

-All these houses were empty and boarded up.

-Really?

0:20:480:20:53

No-one really wanted to live there.

0:20:530:20:56

-I don't think no-one would even want to squat there.

-Oh my God!

0:20:560:20:59

There's been massive council investment in the area

0:21:000:21:03

since Lyndsey was growing up,

0:21:030:21:05

but it suffers from unemployment three times higher than the city.

0:21:050:21:09

Only a third of children leave school with five or more GCSEs

0:21:090:21:13

-grade C or above.

-That was our area.

0:21:130:21:16

If anyone else came in it, then there was trouble.

0:21:160:21:19

-Really?

-We sort of like claimed the area.

0:21:190:21:24

-There was a lot of fighting with weapons and stuff.

-Really?

0:21:240:21:27

-What sort of weapons?

-Guns...

-Shit.

-..and anything.

-Oh my God, you're joking.

0:21:270:21:33

Oh, my God. I'm only laughing because I'm just like so like...

0:21:330:21:37

That's so bad. I don't know anyone that...

0:21:370:21:39

It's like if you've got to fight, you've got to fight,

0:21:390:21:43

-you've got to look after yourself, really.

-Yeah.

0:21:430:21:46

All across the city, the posh girls are meeting their Geordie guides.

0:21:460:21:51

The imposing Byker Wall is a world away from anything Fi's used to.

0:21:510:21:54

-These are like houses.

-Yeah, these are houses and you've got a primary school that I went to.

0:21:540:22:01

And Fiona is meeting single mum, Makylea.

0:22:010:22:04

-We've been given job seeker's allowance.

-OK.

0:22:040:22:07

You can learn a budget yourself, can't you?

0:22:070:22:10

I've been on jobseeker's a few times now.

0:22:100:22:12

-It's just been so difficult, like childcare situation.

-Yeah.

0:22:120:22:16

Meanwhile for the first time in her life, Steph's boarded a public bus.

0:22:160:22:22

As it makes its way across town, she's mentally preparing to explore more unknown territory -

0:22:220:22:28

the council estate home of her Geordie guide, Kimberley.

0:22:280:22:31

Mother of two year old Jayden, Kimberley is a care assistant

0:22:340:22:38

who lives at home with her parents.

0:22:380:22:41

Got me nephew in the corner.

0:22:410:22:44

Probably done a bunk from school early. That's a typical Geordie.

0:22:440:22:48

I come from a very big family. I have five sisters and a brother.

0:22:490:22:55

There's three off we work, one's on the sick,

0:22:550:22:57

the other two is on the dole and so is my brother.

0:22:570:23:01

Here's your pony. That's his pony.

0:23:010:23:05

If their friend that's coming up from the South wants to have a go, there's one for her.

0:23:050:23:12

I am privileged to have such a big family.

0:23:120:23:17

I do hope that she doesn't just see this and think,

0:23:170:23:22

"Well they're just this and that," when we really are nice people.

0:23:220:23:26

-Hi, I'm Kimberley, nice to meet you.

-Good to meet you, I'm Steph.

-Come in.

0:23:320:23:37

-Hello.

-Say hello.

-Hello.

0:23:400:23:44

Hello. Oh, shy.

0:23:460:23:49

Hi, I'm Steph.

0:23:490:23:53

-Have a seat.

-Thank you.

0:23:530:23:56

-Do you have any children?

-I don't, no. No, no.

0:23:580:24:01

Do you have a partner?

0:24:010:24:02

I have a boyfriend, we've been together a year.

0:24:020:24:04

-I have a husband, in Afghanistan at the minute.

-Is he?

0:24:040:24:09

-Do you know my father did a tour of Afghan.

-Did he?

0:24:090:24:13

My father's in the Army.

0:24:130:24:15

-Small world really, isn't it?

-It is.

0:24:150:24:18

I tell you what, Army world, is crazy small.

0:24:180:24:20

-What regiment is your husband in?

-Royal Tank Regiment.

-OK.

0:24:200:24:25

A normal squaddie really. I'm really glad of that.

0:24:250:24:29

Knowing he's driving around and he's not actually walking.

0:24:290:24:32

It keeps my mind at ease a bit.

0:24:320:24:34

-There's a lot of stairs.

-When did you get married?

0:24:360:24:38

-On the 2nd October last year.

-Really recently.

0:24:380:24:43

-Two weeks, we were married two weeks and he was gone.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks very much.

0:24:430:24:49

The house is really nice.

0:24:490:24:51

The kitchen is clean and they've got appliances that I wouldn't expect necessarily.

0:24:510:24:57

It's a surprise that they've all the mod cons, if you like.

0:24:570:25:01

It is a small house for that many people to be living in.

0:25:010:25:03

It's very rare to find three generations living under the same roof

0:25:030:25:07

but I think, in terms of society,

0:25:070:25:10

there couldn't be anything more healthy because

0:25:100:25:12

it just breeds a real family spirit and that's delightful.

0:25:120:25:16

Now that they've met their Geordie guides, the finishing school lessons can begin.

0:25:190:25:24

Newcastle's central market is the perfect place for a class

0:25:240:25:28

on how to make jobseeker's allowance stretch to feed them for ten days.

0:25:280:25:33

This is a budgeting task. This is the Grainger Market.

0:25:330:25:36

You'll get excellent produce and you'll get it at a fantastic price.

0:25:360:25:42

The Geordie girls have some advice.

0:25:420:25:45

-Ask for a penny long stand.

-A paddy long stand?

0:25:450:25:48

-No, a penny long stand.

-A penny long stand?

-Yeah.

0:25:480:25:50

Yeah, a penny long stand.

0:25:500:25:52

-It's not going to be like a cow's penis?

-Right, let's go.

0:25:520:25:56

Good luck. >

0:25:560:25:58

To see if the posh girls are managing their money, the Geordie girls get to watch on a TV monitor.

0:25:580:26:04

Oh, my God, can't see what that is.

0:26:040:26:07

As well as shopping for themselves, tonight they'll be cooking dinner for the Geordies.

0:26:070:26:13

So Huffty has given them an extra tenner to buy some regional specialities.

0:26:130:26:18

Do you do pease pudding?

0:26:180:26:19

-Yes.

-What is it?

-Pease pudding?

0:26:190:26:23

It's just pease pudding, you know, with peas.

0:26:230:26:26

Do you sell plate pies?

0:26:280:26:30

-Yeah, we do. We've got some her the minute.

-One of those, then, please.

0:26:300:26:35

Is there anything else on there? Oh, and a penny long stand.

0:26:350:26:38

There's no penny long stands here. It doesn't exist. That is somebody taking the mick.

0:26:380:26:43

-It is.

-You can hear them laughing.

0:26:430:26:46

Tonight's meal in hand, they can get back to buying food for the week,

0:26:500:26:53

and Steph shows she has an eye for a bargain.

0:26:530:26:57

-Ten for 1.80?

-We can do that.

-We might as well. We can freeze them forever.

0:26:570:27:01

They're trying to budget, I think.

0:27:010:27:03

-Despite temptation...

-Look at those steaks.

0:27:030:27:07

-How incredible do they look?

-..they plump for the cheaper cuts of meat.

0:27:070:27:11

-Shall we get, like, a pound of sausages?

-Yeah, that'd be good.

0:27:110:27:14

Two of these, two of these and one of those.

0:27:140:27:16

1.99 for that.

0:27:160:27:18

Steph and Fiona look good at budgeting.

0:27:180:27:22

Got it all?

0:27:220:27:24

I think the other two are a little bit clueless.

0:27:240:27:26

HUFFTY: 'They're buying hats?'

0:27:260:27:30

Ooh, shall we get some garlic?

0:27:320:27:34

-She looks a bit lost, doesn't she?

-Aye, she looks lost.

0:27:370:27:39

-'Do you think she's ever been on a budget?

-No, I don't think so.'

0:27:390:27:43

Spend, spend, spend.

0:27:430:27:45

-How much is that now?

-That's 2.30.

-Oh...

0:27:450:27:48

-Are you on a budget, like?

-Yeah.

-So it's a real strict budget.

-It is a strict budget.

0:27:480:27:52

That's why we were hoping you'd give it to us for free.

0:27:520:27:55

You've got more chance of getting a kiss off a crocodile.

0:27:550:27:57

Fiona, nothing in Newcastle's free.

0:27:570:27:59

'Regardless of you having a pretty little face,'

0:27:590:28:01

you're not going to get it for nowt.

0:28:010:28:03

Working as a group, the Southern girls pass this test and leave with

0:28:030:28:08

enough food to feed themselves for six days for just £20.

0:28:080:28:12

Thinking about how to make a little money go a long way

0:28:160:28:19

is a step in the right direction, but they still have a lot more to learn

0:28:190:28:22

to understand how poverty affects people.

0:28:220:28:26

Huffty wants them to see how different their lives are from that of their Geordie sisters.

0:28:260:28:32

-Right, lasses... Lasses. Lasses.

-What?

0:28:320:28:35

What we're going to do now is get to know each other a bit more, as a group.

0:28:350:28:39

So she's devised a series of questions about money and upbringing to get the debate flowing.

0:28:390:28:44

The question is - what do your parents do? And the answer is -

0:28:440:28:48

they're both on benefits.

0:28:480:28:50

This answer's close to home for all of the Geordies, but it's Makylea's.

0:28:500:28:54

-How long have they been on benefits?

-Me mam, probably her whole life.

-Yeah.

0:28:540:28:58

-I'm not too sure about my dad, cos we only met a couple of years ago.

-Right.

0:28:580:29:02

OK, Fi, what about your parents?

0:29:020:29:04

My dad is a banker, and my mum doesn't do anything.

0:29:040:29:09

Is that because your dad's got loads of money? And she doesn't need...

0:29:090:29:13

-No, I'm not being rude...

-She is a lady of leisure. She doesn't do anything.

0:29:130:29:17

-Do you get money off your parents?

-Yeah.

-Like an allowance?

-Yeah.

0:29:170:29:21

-How much do you get off of them?

-£700 a month.

0:29:210:29:24

That's my wage! I go to work and I graft really hard

0:29:240:29:29

for 12 hours, and I come out with what yous get for an allowance.

0:29:290:29:33

Does anybody want to swap lifestyles?!

0:29:330:29:35

THEY ALL LAUGH

0:29:350:29:37

OK, what is the most luxurious item you have bought for yourself or had bought for you?

0:29:370:29:44

-And the answer is - bought a necklace when I was younger. Lyndsey, is it you?

-Aye.

0:29:440:29:49

How long did you save for it?

0:29:490:29:51

-Months.

-Yeah.

-For ever.

0:29:510:29:54

Had to go down the shop every week and pay, like, as much as I could off.

0:29:540:29:58

-Lucy, what about you?

-My parents bought me a flat in London.

-A flat?!

0:29:580:30:02

Fuck!

0:30:020:30:04

OK, next one. Where did you go to school?

0:30:060:30:09

And the answer is - I have attended International School in South Africa till I was seven,

0:30:090:30:14

then I went to boarding school in Dorset in England.

0:30:140:30:17

-You've travelled the world?

-Yeah.

0:30:170:30:19

-I've never been on a plane before in my life.

-You've not?!

-Oh, my God!

-I've never been abroad.

0:30:190:30:26

For single mum Makylea, holidays abroad are just a dream.

0:30:260:30:31

Do you want to go on the roundabout?

0:30:310:30:32

She has more pressing issues, like surviving.

0:30:320:30:35

It's really hard to get a job in Newcastle at the moment.

0:30:350:30:39

I mean, God, I've been looking for absolute months.

0:30:390:30:42

I've been to shops handing my CVs out,

0:30:420:30:44

and I'm just trying to move me life in a positive direction, like a positive path.

0:30:440:30:49

I don't want to sit down and be on benefits, because what example am I setting for my children?

0:30:490:30:54

I want them to see you've got to go out and work for things that you want in life.

0:30:540:30:58

Whoo!

0:30:580:31:00

So, boarding school, then?

0:31:000:31:02

-Yeah, boarding school since I was seven.

-Did you not miss your family?

0:31:020:31:06

You move into a new family.

0:31:060:31:07

-You've got house parents and you've got 60 sisters.

-It was like a massive sleepover with all your friends.

0:31:070:31:13

It was probably, yeah, the best seven years of my life.

0:31:130:31:17

I couldn't ever, ever put my son in boarding school. Never, ever.

0:31:170:31:20

I love him too much. I know it was for their best interests,

0:31:200:31:24

but if you're a good mother, I think you should stick by your children.

0:31:240:31:29

Then one of them says her dad bought her a house. That was a big shock.

0:31:290:31:32

I would love my dad to buy me a house, absolutely love it.

0:31:320:31:35

-Bye.

-See you later.

0:31:350:31:38

Splashing out round here tends to be on the simpler stuff.

0:31:380:31:42

Huffty's asked Lyndsey to give Lucy a taste of a Geordie treat - getting your nails done.

0:31:420:31:47

They're so weird.

0:31:470:31:49

-I've never seen anything quite like it.

-Do you like them?

0:31:490:31:52

Yeah, I think they'll grow on me.

0:31:520:31:55

I just don't want to look too Essex-y.

0:31:550:31:57

-There's nowt wrong with that.

-LUCY LAUGHS

0:31:570:32:00

Over at the girls' house in Walker, Fi and Fiona have to cook dinner for eight on a budget,

0:32:000:32:06

but the pease pudding is perplexing them.

0:32:060:32:08

I'm not sure if you're meant to eat it raw.

0:32:080:32:10

No, you must have to cook it.

0:32:100:32:12

Let's see.

0:32:120:32:13

-It doesn't give instructions.

-Oh, my God! That smells like a garden.

0:32:130:32:17

-It smells like mud.

-Let's just see what it's got in it.

0:32:170:32:20

No, but check, check, check.

0:32:200:32:23

Does it not say directions?

0:32:230:32:25

-Ah.

-What does it taste like?

0:32:250:32:26

It's kind of like sweet corn.

0:32:260:32:28

You just need to heat it up. It's kind of nice.

0:32:300:32:33

-Or not.

-No...

-Don't like it?

0:32:330:32:35

-See, I don't really go out a lot.

-No?

0:32:360:32:40

Last time I was out, I think it was, like, Christmas or something.

0:32:400:32:44

I'd have been out last night, tonight and tomorrow.

0:32:440:32:48

-The bad thing is, the booze is free.

-Is it?

-Yeah. Magnums of vodka, champagne.

-That'd be brilliant.

0:32:480:32:53

-How come you don't go out so much now?

-I done it all when I was younger.

0:32:530:32:57

I used to go to bars when I was, like, 14.

0:32:570:32:59

How did you get in? Fake ID?

0:32:590:33:01

-No, just walked in. I've always looked older.

-I was about to say.

0:33:010:33:06

Like, with older people. So, like I say, I've done it all before and I'm sort of, like, bored of it.

0:33:060:33:12

She used to be a massive party animal when she was, like, 14 years old. What was I doing at 14?

0:33:120:33:19

Sort of parties without alcohol, completely different,

0:33:190:33:22

whereas she'd be sat on her wall outside the house drinking cider and stuff.

0:33:220:33:26

It's just different worlds.

0:33:260:33:28

Despite the enormous gulf, tonight the Southerners are serving up their budget cuisine.

0:33:280:33:34

But Lucy's got other things on her mind.

0:33:340:33:36

Hello!

0:33:360:33:38

-I've never had them done before.

-Are they acrylic?

0:33:380:33:41

-Apparently.

-They're going to bugger your nails.

-Oh, God...

0:33:410:33:44

She's picking me some flowers, bless her!

0:33:440:33:46

Tell her she'll get fined.

0:33:460:33:48

Steph! Steph, stop doing that. You'll get fined.

0:33:480:33:52

It's a council house and council garden. You'll get fined.

0:33:520:33:55

I swear to God. How many are you...?

0:33:550:33:58

THEY ALL GIGGLE

0:33:580:34:00

She was like, "No way!"

0:34:000:34:02

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-I've brought you something.

0:34:020:34:06

This is Newcastle's finest champagne.

0:34:060:34:09

-That's battery acid that we can afford to drink. Geordie champagne.

-How is the food coming on?

0:34:090:34:15

We have decided to cook sausages.

0:34:150:34:17

-Thank you! Because I'm absolutely clamming.

-Clamming?

-Yeah, it means starving.

-Clamming?

0:34:170:34:23

-Like, I'm absolutely clamming. It means starving.

-Like a clam?

0:34:230:34:27

-Like a clam, as in the seafood clam?

-What clam?

0:34:270:34:30

"Clam" is like "clammy" - it means sticky and gross.

0:34:300:34:34

-No, clamming to us Geordies is, like, starving.

-Ah!

0:34:340:34:37

I think we're ready.

0:34:370:34:39

So what will they make of their budget dinner?

0:34:390:34:41

-THEY CHEER

-Yeah!

-Oh, we've got peas.

0:34:410:34:44

Wow. I'm going to enjoy every last crumb of this.

0:34:440:34:48

-How's the potato thing? What does it taste like?

-It's really, really, really nice.

0:34:480:34:53

-The plate pie is like quiche, but just with a pastry topping.

-Mmm.

0:34:530:34:57

It's so delicious.

0:34:570:34:59

Seems like it hit the spot with both groups of girls.

0:34:590:35:02

-The sausages are cracking.

-The sausages are really nice.

0:35:020:35:05

Them sausages are dead distinctive.

0:35:050:35:07

-What does "distinctive" mean?

-I don't know.

0:35:070:35:10

-Well done, well done.

-Aye. High-five on the meal.

0:35:100:35:14

I'm not being funny, but when yous move out, I'm going to ask how much it is to rent this place.

0:35:140:35:19

What do you do to get a council...? How do you go and apply for one?

0:35:190:35:23

You go into the council and get a housing form,

0:35:230:35:25

and it can take anywhere from weeks to months to years before you hear for a house.

0:35:250:35:30

-I've been on the waiting list for absolute donkeys.

-What are the priorities?

0:35:300:35:34

Priorities, like, people with kids, people with issues, like drug and alcohol issues,

0:35:340:35:40

-domestic violence.

-It just goes on points and how many points you've got,

0:35:400:35:44

and unless you're in danger or you've got five kids in a two-bedroom house,

0:35:440:35:48

-you are not getting moved.

-Even it it's really bad.

-Yeah.

0:35:480:35:52

Housing is just one problem affecting these Geordie girls.

0:35:520:35:55

Trying to live on low wages or benefits means they often don't have enough to get by on.

0:35:550:36:00

I really, really have to do a hell of a lot and I'm still left with not a penny.

0:36:000:36:05

You don't go without sort of, you know, going to the pub for a drink or two?

0:36:050:36:11

-Yeah.

-Sometimes I have to walk to work

0:36:110:36:13

because I haven't got a bus fare to get to work and I have to walk back.

0:36:130:36:18

If I need to save money for, like, say it was Mother's Day,

0:36:180:36:21

I'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...

0:36:210:36:27

My parents have had to sacrifice for my education.

0:36:270:36:30

I mean, a boarding school of £26,000 a year doesn't come without sacrifice.

0:36:300:36:36

My mother's gone without a wonderful wardrobe, my parents don't drive fancy cars,

0:36:360:36:41

because they love me so much that they've given up all the things

0:36:410:36:45

that they would quite like to have in their life, and could do, if they'd just sent me to state school.

0:36:450:36:51

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

0:36:510:36:57

It's just different worlds. Different...

0:36:570:37:00

-It's like living on two different planets, really.

-It completely is.

0:37:000:37:04

My ma's told me stories about when I was younger

0:37:040:37:06

with my big sister, and she had, like, two bits of bread left and two eggs left for the whole week

0:37:060:37:12

and she gave me and my sister it, and she starved for the whole week.

0:37:120:37:15

It's been a full-on day, with lots of discoveries for the privileged girls.

0:37:180:37:23

-They're coming to understand a bit about how the other half live.

-Thank you very much for having us.

0:37:230:37:28

I just couldn't believe it when they were saying that about the food.

0:37:280:37:32

God, I felt sick. Like, all of us went to boarding school

0:37:320:37:36

and how much our parents spent on school fees, let alone school dinners, and it's...

0:37:360:37:42

Yeah, it's just insane... and different ball games.

0:37:420:37:47

But they're not all completely sympathetic.

0:37:470:37:51

It is heart-wrenching to think that people do actually live on the poverty line, or below it,

0:37:510:37:56

and yet I find it very difficult to understand

0:37:560:38:02

because I see them with BlackBerries

0:38:020:38:05

and I see that they sort of have modern appliances in their houses.

0:38:050:38:10

Whilst I can never appreciate what it must be like to live on as tight budget as they often do,

0:38:100:38:16

um...I am mildly sceptical about where the money actually goes.

0:38:160:38:23

I don't think they could imagine what it's like to be me at all.

0:38:230:38:27

They'll have to spend more time with us to understand what it's like to be one of us,

0:38:270:38:31

to understand what it's like to have your gas and electric run out, or work for what you want in life.

0:38:310:38:36

It's really hard.

0:38:360:38:37

Oh, my God, these bloody nails.

0:38:410:38:44

I don't like them. I think they're really chavvy.

0:38:460:38:50

So, now I'm stuck with these, like, giant talons.

0:38:500:38:54

-They've wrecked everything.

-Only cos you can't suck your thumb.

0:38:540:38:58

-Yes.

-Aw...

-It looks horrible.

0:38:580:39:01

Being forced to survive on jobseeker's allowance

0:39:010:39:04

has made the girls resort to a packed lunch, Geordie-style...

0:39:040:39:07

-It smells really good.

-..stottie with pease pudding.

0:39:070:39:10

Basically, it's just bread.

0:39:100:39:12

It looks a bit gross, but it didn't taste too bad. Oh, God.

0:39:120:39:17

-I'm putting loads of cheese on yours for you.

-Thanks, babe.

0:39:170:39:21

The girls are making a good start at living on a budget, but they need to be tested further on fitting in.

0:39:230:39:29

Today presents a perfect opportunity.

0:39:290:39:33

It's match day in Newcastle...

0:39:330:39:36

..the day when the Geordie nation is unified by the famous black and white stripes

0:39:370:39:42

of the city's football club.

0:39:420:39:45

But before the girls are let loose on the supporters,

0:39:450:39:48

there's one area where they still need a little work - the Geordie language.

0:39:480:39:53

Comedian and linguistic expert Simon Donald has been called in

0:39:530:39:58

to provide their next lesson - Geordie elocution...

0:39:580:40:02

Stand up, ladies.

0:40:020:40:03

All of us?

0:40:030:40:04

No, no - just the posh ones.

0:40:040:40:06

ALL LAUGH

0:40:060:40:07

That's why he said "ladies".

0:40:070:40:10

..starting with a classic.

0:40:100:40:11

How now brown cow.

0:40:110:40:14

Can you say after me?

0:40:140:40:16

-ALL:

-How now brown cow.

0:40:160:40:18

Right. Hoo noo broon coo.

0:40:180:40:23

-ALL:

-Hoo noo broon coo.

0:40:230:40:26

-Hoo...

-Hoo.

-Noo...

-Noo.

0:40:260:40:28

-Broon...

-Broon...

-I can't.

-Coo.

-Coo.

0:40:280:40:32

THEY GIGGLE

0:40:320:40:34

It's changing your mouth, cos you're like, hoo noo broon coo.

0:40:340:40:38

Try saying "pher-ter".

0:40:380:40:39

Pherter.

0:40:390:40:41

"Copy-a".

0:40:410:40:42

-ALL:

-Copy-a.

0:40:420:40:44

So, one, two, three.

0:40:440:40:45

(GEORDIE ACCENT) Photo-copier.

0:40:450:40:47

By Geordie, I think they've got it!

0:40:470:40:50

-Got to think of something useful to teach these girls. One sentence?

-From this area? Fuck right off.

0:40:500:40:55

Do one.

0:40:550:40:57

There is a different attitude towards swearing around the country.

0:40:570:41:01

That may be one area where you will maybe struggle to fit in.

0:41:010:41:07

OK.

0:41:070:41:08

Come up with four expressions to teach your partners.

0:41:080:41:11

There's a lot of Geordie to get to grips with. Like the sounds...

0:41:110:41:16

-"Seh".

-Say.

-"Seh".

-Say.

0:41:160:41:18

-Pet.

-Pet!

0:41:180:41:20

..the expressions...

0:41:200:41:21

Pet, ya kna shy bairns get noot.

0:41:210:41:23

Ya kna shy bairns get noot.

0:41:230:41:26

-Noot.

-Noot!

-..and of course the swearing.

0:41:260:41:29

-(GEORDIE ACCENT):

-You fuckin' takin' the piss!

0:41:290:41:33

-Ya daft

-BLEEP!

0:41:330:41:34

I love swearing in Geordie, it's so much more fun!

0:41:340:41:38

Oh, God, my parents are going to watch this.

0:41:380:41:41

After a morning of practice, Simon is happy to pass them,

0:41:410:41:45

with one last bit of advice.

0:41:450:41:47

The people of Newcastle are very friendly when it comes to everything unless you look at them funny.

0:41:470:41:53

Basically, snobbery is one thing they don't like.

0:41:530:41:55

So, let's see if you can go out into the wilds of Newcastle and use what you've learned.

0:41:550:42:01

-ALL:

-Thank you very much!

-Lovely to meet you all!

0:42:010:42:05

Time to try out their new skills on the Geordie nation.

0:42:050:42:08

Can the Southerners really fit in amongst the local football supporters?

0:42:100:42:15

I want you to experience the whole culture o' Geordieland.

0:42:160:42:20

This is a great way to do it, by gan to the match.

0:42:200:42:23

Everybody up for it?

0:42:230:42:25

-ALL:

-Yeah!

0:42:250:42:27

Huffty is leading them to a busy bar in the stadium.

0:42:270:42:30

Supporters are called the Toon Army.

0:42:300:42:33

Why is it "toon"?

0:42:330:42:35

As in "town".

0:42:350:42:37

-Ah! You're Town Army?

-Toon Army.

0:42:370:42:40

Eager to fit in, or after a souvenir, the girls set their hearts on replica shirts.

0:42:400:42:46

Can you afford shirts?

0:42:460:42:48

-I don't know. How much are they?

-About £35.

-That's what I've got for the next ten days.

0:42:480:42:53

They certainly can't afford £35 on their benefits.

0:42:530:42:56

Does anyone want to buy me a shirt?!

0:42:560:42:58

But these girls are canny lasses.

0:42:580:43:01

They find ones in the sale for a fiver.

0:43:010:43:04

It's an unnecessary purchase

0:43:060:43:09

but as a Newcastle fan, Huffty isn't going to lecture them.

0:43:090:43:12

Lasses, I am so proud of yous. Honestly!

0:43:120:43:15

You're really getting into the Toon Army spirit.

0:43:150:43:18

If you were going to blow your benefit on anything,

0:43:180:43:21

blowing them on Newcastle United tops, that's the way to gan, lasses! That's the way to gan.

0:43:210:43:27

Shauna, take care of them!

0:43:270:43:28

Come on, then!

0:43:290:43:31

Remembering what they've learned about avoiding giving dirty looks,

0:43:340:43:38

-the posh girls launch a Southern charm offensive.

-Do you like our T-shirts?

0:43:380:43:43

They discover Geordie guys are rather eager to chat with them...

0:43:430:43:47

..and to help them hone their skills.

0:43:490:43:51

The bairn's all hacky from larking in the clarts.

0:43:510:43:54

The bairn is all...

0:43:540:43:56

-Hacky.

-..hacky...

0:43:560:43:58

-From...

-..from larking in the mart.

0:43:580:44:01

-In the clarts.

-In the clarts?

0:44:010:44:02

-Yes.

-What's clarts?

0:44:020:44:04

-Mud.

-How is clarts mud?

0:44:040:44:07

You're, like, "I don't make it up!"

0:44:070:44:09

That's just what it is!

0:44:090:44:11

This particular test's gone more smoothly for Fiona than the other girls.

0:44:110:44:16

-We did talk to a few Geordie men.

-They were hammered, to be honest.

0:44:160:44:20

Yeah, they were all a bit hammered.

0:44:200:44:22

So, like, the accent was even harder to understand.

0:44:220:44:26

The men were friendly, though, weren't they? They were really friendly to me.

0:44:270:44:31

Why's that funny?

0:44:310:44:34

Why's that funny, babe?

0:44:340:44:36

The posh girls have now been living on the equivalent of benefits for three days.

0:44:510:44:57

They may not all be dressing like Geordies, but they've succeeded in feeling at ease in the city.

0:44:570:45:02

And their eyes are starting to open to some of the issues of hardship in disadvantaged areas,

0:45:020:45:08

particularly when it comes to their Geordie guides.

0:45:080:45:11

20-year-old youth worker Lyndsey has invited Lucy to meet some of her family.

0:45:110:45:16

Hiya. You all right?

0:45:170:45:19

Yeah.

0:45:190:45:20

Welcome. Come in. It's just through there.

0:45:200:45:23

Oh, hi!

0:45:230:45:25

-This is Paul, me little brother, and Christina. They're twins.

-Hi.

-Hi.

0:45:250:45:30

Growing up in a single-parent family,

0:45:300:45:33

Lyndsey took on a lot of responsibility at a very young age.

0:45:330:45:37

I found meself looking after the younger brother and sister.

0:45:370:45:41

Taking 'em to school and stuff. Making sure they were safe.

0:45:410:45:44

You put them before yourself.

0:45:440:45:46

That's so nice.

0:45:460:45:47

'It's just something I do and it's something that's actually helped us a lot in me life now.

0:45:470:45:53

'Although it's hard, it's...did nae harm to me.'

0:45:530:45:55

Well, I don't think it did, anyway!

0:45:570:45:59

We've always been like a family where we help each other

0:46:000:46:04

and it was just normal, like, to watch the bairn for half an hour.

0:46:040:46:10

As a big sister, Lyndsey has always acted as a role model,

0:46:120:46:15

although they still remember when she wasn't a good one.

0:46:150:46:19

Do you remember when me mam tried to ground her?

0:46:190:46:21

She jumped out of the top window of the house.

0:46:210:46:24

She had inches, like, these inch-high heels

0:46:240:46:27

and she jumped out the window cos me ma tried to ground her.

0:46:270:46:30

She told me she was a party animal when she was younger.

0:46:300:46:33

Do you go out? Are you like a mini-Lyndsey?

0:46:330:46:35

Aye.

0:46:350:46:37

She goes out with her friends and that

0:46:370:46:39

but obviously when I've... She'll see me do it all so I think...

0:46:390:46:43

Well, have you learnt your lesson?

0:46:430:46:45

I don't normally drink on street corners.

0:46:450:46:48

Your friends do.

0:46:480:46:50

Me friends do, I don't.

0:46:500:46:51

I've seen it all with Lyndsey, I don't want to go through that!

0:46:510:46:55

Meeting Lyndsey has changed my opinion on the girls that I thought would be up here completely.

0:46:550:47:00

I didn't realise how hard it really was.

0:47:000:47:02

I don't know, like, I don't think I'd be able to do what she's done.

0:47:020:47:06

So far in Newcastle, the girls have been hearing about what it means to grow up with little money.

0:47:080:47:13

Now Huffty wants to push them even further.

0:47:160:47:19

Drug abuse is a common problem that deprived communities have to live alongside.

0:47:190:47:23

At 16, Natalie moved to Newcastle from Greece for a better education

0:47:250:47:29

but ended up developing a drug habit.

0:47:290:47:32

Her mum Nouli has been trying to get her off heroin

0:47:320:47:35

for the last five years.

0:47:350:47:36

Natalie has been given a new flat to help her find some independence,

0:47:360:47:41

and Huffty wants the girls to help do it up.

0:47:410:47:43

-Hello. Come on in.

-Thank you very much.

0:47:430:47:48

-Lasses, I'd like to introduce youth to Nouli. ALL:

-Hello.

0:47:480:47:53

-And this is her daughter Natalie, and this is Natalie's flat.

-Hi.

0:47:530:47:57

-So, do you want to be getting your gear on?

-Yes.

-We'll get down to some hard work.

0:47:570:48:03

While Steph and Lucy get to work on the garden,

0:48:030:48:07

Fiona and Fi begin painting the bathroom.

0:48:070:48:10

These are all jobs Natalie can't do on her own as she has limited mobility.

0:48:120:48:17

Do you mind telling us what is going on with your leg?

0:48:170:48:20

I've had six operations on it. That's one of them.

0:48:200:48:24

-I have had one underneath. Ow!

-Careful, don't hurt yourself.

-How did it start?

0:48:240:48:30

Drug use, basically.

0:48:310:48:32

When I was young, I done a lot of naughty things.

0:48:320:48:36

You injected heroin in your leg?

0:48:360:48:39

In my groin, to be exact, because I really hammered my arms...

0:48:390:48:43

-Yeah.

-..as you can tell.

0:48:430:48:44

I had loads of abscesses.

0:48:440:48:46

Oh, my God, it was like really gross,

0:48:460:48:49

like clumps of blood and crap just squirting out my arms

0:48:490:48:54

all over the place.

0:48:540:48:55

How did the whole thing start? How old were you?

0:48:550:48:58

Well, from about 16 onwards. I did use for about ten years, on and off.

0:48:590:49:05

How old are you now?

0:49:050:49:07

I'm 31.

0:49:070:49:08

That looks great.

0:49:090:49:11

Mum Nouli was living in Greece when she heard her daughter was in a lot of trouble.

0:49:120:49:16

She dropped everything.

0:49:160:49:19

You must have been so kind of cut up?

0:49:200:49:23

Yes. It's a very, very bad thing for human nature, you know, drugs.

0:49:230:49:29

It can really destroy you.

0:49:290:49:31

It can really destroy your character, your life.

0:49:310:49:35

Did you see her take drugs?

0:49:350:49:36

Yes, of course. I see her taking drugs

0:49:360:49:40

and I see her overdose and...

0:49:400:49:42

Did she ever ask you to... because I know sometimes they do,

0:49:420:49:45

they ask you, please, they're begging you to help?

0:49:450:49:48

I did have sometimes to give her money to get drugs.

0:49:480:49:50

The dealer was downstairs and was expecting some money otherwise he would beat her,

0:49:500:49:55

so I had to give her, you know?

0:49:550:49:58

That's incredible. I don't know like... I'm sure my mum would do that...

0:49:580:50:02

-She'd do exactly the same.

-Really?

0:50:020:50:04

Yes, because when you are a child is in this position,

0:50:040:50:08

it is so painful to see your child so vulnerable.

0:50:080:50:11

It's not as simple as drugs. It's the way she is after she does drugs.

0:50:110:50:16

Everybody can exploit her.

0:50:160:50:18

Everybody can...can abuse her.

0:50:180:50:21

Has she suffered sort of violence?

0:50:210:50:25

She did, yes, of course, because she was in the streets.

0:50:250:50:28

-Was she really?

-She was beaten, she was raped.

0:50:280:50:32

-She's been raped?

-Of course.

0:50:320:50:34

My God.

0:50:350:50:37

You're so brave.

0:50:370:50:38

I had no choice...have I?

0:50:400:50:42

-How did you buy the drugs?

-I did do prostitution, yeah. And other things.

0:50:430:50:48

So I'm staying away from that now.

0:50:500:50:53

I'm trying to survive but... Oh, don't cry. Come here. It's OK, don't cry.

0:50:530:50:58

Oh...

0:50:580:51:00

Don't cry. I don't do it any more.

0:51:000:51:02

I know, but it's just so sad.

0:51:020:51:05

Well, a lot of women have to still do it, you know, so it's out there.

0:51:050:51:10

But my mum turned everything around.

0:51:100:51:12

She got me somewhere to stay and she's done a lot for me.

0:51:120:51:17

I'm sorry I upset you. I'm emotional, too.

0:51:170:51:19

Sorry!

0:51:190:51:21

All the painting has gone down the hill.

0:51:210:51:24

It doesn't matter, it's OK, don't worry. You've done most of it. It looks really nice.

0:51:240:51:29

We've got loads more to do, though.

0:51:290:51:31

Natalie has been clean of heroin for ten months.

0:51:320:51:36

In the bathroom, the chat has turned to future plans.

0:51:360:51:40

I get married next year.

0:51:400:51:42

I've actually bought a wedding dress - I found it in a cheap shop.

0:51:420:51:46

-Have you?

-Yeah.

0:51:460:51:47

-Have you got it?

-I sort of put it on sometimes.

0:51:470:51:51

-Where is it?

-I'm never going to get married. It's in my wardrobe.

0:51:510:51:55

-Do you want to see it?

-Yeah!

0:51:550:51:56

Come on. Bedroom.

0:51:560:51:57

-I'm obsessed with wedding dresses.

-So am I! It actually fits me, and shit.

0:51:590:52:04

It's in here somewhere. Ah!

0:52:040:52:05

-I've even got the shoes that go with it.

-Oh, my God.

0:52:050:52:09

-How pretty is that?

-No way!

-You can't say you'll never get married. You might get married.

0:52:090:52:14

You've got to have money to do things like that, and I don't.

0:52:140:52:18

-But honestly, 20 quid, how cool is that?

-That's so cute.

0:52:180:52:22

-I love that you have a wedding dress. I love that.

-Do you want to borrow it?

0:52:220:52:26

-Hiya. Oh, wow.

-We're getting there. We're getting there.

-It looks really good. Hello, strawberry plants.

0:52:270:52:34

How are you finding it?

0:52:340:52:35

SHE EXHALES

0:52:350:52:37

Yeah, me, too.

0:52:370:52:39

It's...

0:52:390:52:40

-It's just brutal.

-Yeah.

0:52:420:52:44

I don't think I've ever met somebody who said to me,

0:52:440:52:47

"I did... I was in prostitution to pay for anything," really.

0:52:470:52:51

Wow, that is really looking nice.

0:52:550:52:57

I'm going to be very proud of my garden.

0:52:570:52:59

You hear about things like that and you read about things like that,

0:52:590:53:03

but you don't sit in the same room as someone

0:53:030:53:06

that basically is brave enough to tell you all the things that have happened, and stuff,

0:53:060:53:11

things she's done to get drugs.

0:53:110:53:13

'I really hope that she kind of stays clean

0:53:130:53:17

'and can stay in this house, and things.'

0:53:170:53:20

The council giving money to make her better, for me,

0:53:200:53:24

is a like a good reason, you know,

0:53:240:53:26

and I think there definitely should be enough money from councils

0:53:260:53:31

for people that are fixing themselves like this,

0:53:310:53:34

instead of wasted on people that maybe don't deserve it as much as she does.

0:53:340:53:38

This experience is proving a lot tougher than they expected.

0:53:380:53:43

Oh, no, I'm going to cry.

0:53:430:53:45

Just can't think of, like, how...

0:53:480:53:51

I mean, sure, her life must have been just awful, to turn and do that.

0:53:510:53:56

Cos, like, I just can't think that I would ever, ever...

0:53:560:53:59

I can't speak!

0:54:000:54:02

..like I would ever turn to that, and she did,

0:54:020:54:05

and oh God, it upset me so much,

0:54:050:54:07

cos I think that's, like, the worst thing,

0:54:090:54:11

the most degrading thing for a girl to go through.

0:54:110:54:15

It's been four days since they enrolled at the Geordie Finishing School.

0:54:220:54:25

The four privileged girls from down south are just beginning to experience

0:54:250:54:30

the hardships of life on the breadline.

0:54:300:54:32

Huffty has called the four Geordie girls together to find out

0:54:320:54:36

how they think the Southerners have been doing.

0:54:360:54:39

-Who do you think IS being the most genuine? ALL:

-Fiona.

0:54:390:54:42

-Why?

-I don't know. It's just the way she is.

0:54:420:54:45

-She's very comfortable talking, isn't she?

-And she swears!

0:54:450:54:49

-It's a bonus, isn't it?

-Yeah, she swears.

0:54:490:54:53

Who do think is the most scared by what they've seen?

0:54:530:54:58

-Steph.

-I think Lucy.

0:54:580:55:00

I think Lucy as well. I think she's the most frightened.

0:55:000:55:03

When she's saying something, she's putting her point across but not fully.

0:55:030:55:08

-Who's finding it the hardest?

-That would be Lucy.

0:55:080:55:10

Finding it the hardest would be Lucy.

0:55:100:55:13

Sometimes when she's like talking, I feel like when I'm on about things, she just sits back...

0:55:130:55:18

She'll take it all in and not give it.

0:55:180:55:21

Sometimes I think like, oh God, does she feel intimidated?

0:55:210:55:25

She'll give her opinion but not her full opinion. She kind of holds back.

0:55:250:55:29

She will say some things

0:55:290:55:30

but I think she kind of holds her tongue in case she offends any of us.

0:55:300:55:34

Let wur see what they're like after a drink.

0:55:340:55:37

Let their true colours flow - that's when we'll see what they think of us,

0:55:370:55:41

Newcastle, wur homes and wur area.

0:55:410:55:42

Next time, the drink does start flowing at a proper Geordie house party...

0:55:420:55:47

I just can't believe how smashed everyone gets!

0:55:470:55:50

ALL CHEER

0:55:500:55:52

-We don't have house parties quite like this.

-Yeah!

0:55:520:55:56

Next time you're going to think before you say the word "spunk".

0:55:560:56:00

..they get a taste of some messy work experience...

0:56:020:56:05

They made me not want a job even more.

0:56:050:56:08

-..and not everyone's happy...

-We're getting taken to this horrendous pub.

0:56:080:56:11

..when the boot's on the other foot.

0:56:110:56:14

-It does really good things for your boobs, babes.

-Aye, and I look dead skinny.

-Ooh!

0:56:140:56:19

At the end of the day, I feel a million dollars in me dress,

0:56:190:56:22

so I don't give a fuck what anyone says.

0:56:220:56:24

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:56:430:56:47

E-mail [email protected]

0:56:470:56:50

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