Benefits Street, episode 2, Channel 4, review The first episode of the documentary Benefits Street (Channel 4), broadcast last week, provoked a furious backlash. Charity heads writing in yesterday's Daily Telegraph described it as "grossly unbalanced," and claimed it had caused "distress" to those claiming benefits. There is even a petition demanding it be taken off air. But either those protesters watched a very different programme from me - or haven't watched it at all. Sure, the programme showed James Turner Street in Birmingham - where 95 per cent of the residents don't work - as a desperate place. Many living there lead dysfunctional lives and have made bad decisions - including stealing and cheating the system. But the community spirit on show was admirable. This was exemplified by White Dee, the unemployed single mother who in episode one tried her best to keep drug addict Fungi on the straight and narrow. This week's episode showed the disruption caused by Romanian arrivals. Fourteen Romanians living in one house started a metal collection business. They rooted through everyone else's bin bags looking for scrap and left a mess the council refused to clean up. Emotions were running high and we saw Fungi abusing a Romanian woman. It made distressing viewing, especially since last week he was more loveable rogue than bigot. Contrary to what its critics allege, though, the programme does not present people as simple stereotypes. The Romanians had their own hard-luck story. They did not claim benefits (ironically given the show's rather crass title) and wanted to work. None spoke English except schoolboy George, who in a heartbreaking scene was forced to negotiate with the slum landlord when the electricity supply was cut off. They moved on and another set of Romanians arrived - this time men promised work on a farm. They soon realised their gang-master had cheated them. Instead of £40 a day they would be paid £10. Tipped off that they had complained to the police the gang-master's thugs began circling the house. The Romanians realised that the streets of Britain were not paved with gold, and many bitterly regretted making the journey. Given the heated rhetoric around the benefits system and immigration we rarely hear from the people being discussed - only their middle-class representatives or antagonists. One Romanian worker touched eloquently on the central issue: "We're poor, but poverty isn't the issue here - the issue is love. It's love of our families that drives us to work. White Dee wants better for her children as well. The programme did not mock poor people. Instead you saw the range of problems poverty creates and were offered a non-judgmental and mostly balanced view of the way they cope. It's necessary viewing.