The Victorian Slum

In the heart of the modern East End of London, a Victorian slum has been recreated and a group of 21st-century people are moving in. Michael Mosley joins them to tell the extraordinary story of how the Victorian East End changed our attitude to poverty forever.

Reality

The Victorian Slum

Reality

Created By
First Aired on: Oct 10, 2016
Popularity: 4.5591: 5 votes
Networks: (GB)
Status: Ended: Show Ended

Seasons & episodes

Total 1 seasons, 5 episodes

Season 1

Aired 9 years ago

5 Episodes

Episode 1The 1860s60 min
Follow participants as they move into an 1860s tenement made up of sparse rooms, a shared water pump and outhouses. They seek to make a living by matchbox making, wood turning and the rag trade, work once done by their impoverished forebears.
Episode 2The 1870s60 min
Witness a dire economic depression heightened by the arrival of Irish migrants seeking work. Daily, the slum dwellers toil to fulfill clothing orders and make artificial flowers for factories. Some won’t be able to settle their debts.
Episode 3The 1880s60 min
Despite high unemployment and intolerable conditions, people flock to London, desperate for work. When curious upper-class visitors are permitted to visit the slum as tourists, the participants realize how precarious their situation truly is.
Episode 4The 1890s60 min
Enter the 1890s, when mass manufacturing and social reform offer a bit of hope for some of the residents, while others are plagued by a water shortage that dashes hopes for a promising laundry business.
Episode 5The 1900s60 min
Observe the social changes the slum dwellers face as they move into the 20th century. A few families prosper, but others continue to face the poverty endemic in Britain. See what steps are finally taken to alleviate the plight of the poor.