Channel 4 commissions major documentary series Yorkshire: On the Job (w/t)

25 September 2019

Channel 4 has commissioned a major new documentary series, 6 x 60’ minutes, from multi-award-winning producers Minnow Films, taking viewers inside one of the final Great British institutions to open its doors: the Jobcentre.

With unprecedented access to Southern House – a bustling Jobcentre Plus in the heart of Leeds - this series will document the stories of both staff and customers: finding out what life is really like on the benefits frontline in 2019. With 35 dedicated job coaches seeing up to 600 customers every 24 hours, anyone and everyone can come through the doors.  

The team at Southern House believe that most of life’s problems can be solved with a job and everyone deserves a shot at earning a living. They face more challenges than most public servants do - with dislike and distrust of the benefits system at an all-time high, their work is often inglorious. This programme will shed light on what it takes to get people into employment.

The series will be Executive Produced by Sophie Leonard (SAS: WHO DARES WINS, VALLEY COPS) and Grace Reynolds (EDUCATING YORKSHIRE, CONFESSIONS OF A JUNIOR DOCTOR), and Series Produced by Martin Fuller (999: WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE ZOO).  Rita Daniels is the Commissioning Editor for Channel 4.

Leonard and Reynolds said: “We’re delighted to be turning this hard-won, deep access into such an ambitious series for Channel 4.  We’ve spent over five years talking to the DWP about bringing the inner workings of a Jobcentre Plus to screen, which shows just how passionate we are about documenting life there with real heart, humour and humanity.”

Daniels commented: “Lots of series have been made about benefits, mostly focussing on the extreme end of the spectrum and the long-term unemployed. This will be the first series placing equal emphasis on the human stories on both sides of the desk – challenging preconceptions about staff and claimants. And, as the last government agency on the high street, there couldn’t be a more pertinent precinct to speak to life in the UK today.”

Production Co: Minnow Films

Commissioned by: Rita Daniels, Commissioning Editor, Documentaries