Three long-term unemployed families on benefits are given a cash lump sum of £26,000 in return for signing off, to see if they have what it takes to improve their lives and escape the benefits trap. This opening episode introduces the three families, including Tony and Diane from Hull and their 21-year-old son Michael, who persuades his parents to let him buy the latest PlayStation. Scott and Leanne from Liverpool order some bouncy castles as they start a party business, while single mum Rachel treats her family and friends to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.
Tony and Diane realise that their plan to start a business may not be as easy as they thought. Scott can't resist buying a lizard, even if it costs £260. Rachel experiences life debt-free for the first time, and pays off 6 months of her rent.
Cameras continue to observe three families who were given £26,000 in return for coming off benefits. In Hull, Tony and son Michael start buying stock for their secondhand business, including two large slot machines. In Liverpool, Scott and Leanne go through their business plan, and elsewhere in the city, single mum Rachel talks to her friend Mary about how to look for a job when you have never had one.
Tony and Diane are experiencing a shift in their relationship when she gets a job for the first time in seven years, Meanwhile, Scott and Leanne's business goes from strength to strength, and single mum Rachel hands out her CVs to local companies in a bid to find work for the first time in 15 years.
Six Unemployed families and individuals, including a Romford grandmother and Southend single mother, are paid a cash lump sum in return for giving up benefits.
Lorraine gets her trading licence and proceeds to set up her children's clothing stall, but will Romford's discerning market-goers like what they see?
Empty-nester Lorraine is finding the new family dynamic a shock. Adam is super-eager to get back to work, Kim's tanning business has really taken off, and Donna is still trying her best to make the cut.
Having been living hand-to-mouth for years, Danny takes the windfall to do something special for mum-of-five Fran.
Sophie must put her dressmaking business on hold after being evicted by her landlord. Fran and Danny's dream of buying a burger van is within reach, but at what cost?
Adam and Leanne's fledgling gardening business has some painful lessons in store. Having bought a burger van, Fred questions whether she and Dan have been sold a puppy. Sophie has no choice but to press on with her battle to save the family home.
Adam and Leanne's fledgling gardening business has some painful lessons in store. Having bought a burger van, Fred questions whether she and Dan have been sold a puppy. Sophie has no choice but to press on with her battle to save the family home.
As a curtain-raiser to a new series beginning next week, an update on last year's documentary in which long-term unemployed people on benefits were given a cash lump sum of £26,000 in return for signing off, to see if they had what it takes to improve their lives and escape the benefits trap. How have they been getting on since the cameras stopped rolling?