Benefits Street's White Dee: I'm a good mother
Benefits Street star White Dee today insisted she was a 'good parent' after being condemned for swearing at her children and allowing them to mix with drug addicts.
But the self-proclaimed mother of James Turner Street, whose real name is Deidre Kelly, is adamant that her and other people in the Channel 4 documentary have been falsely portrayed by programme makers.
'Black Dee' among seven charged in Benefits Street police raids
"I don't appreciate people saying my children should be taken off me and put into care just because of the way the programme has been edited. I don't swear at my children all the time but I do cringe when I look back on it now," she said.
"It is a very unfair representation of life on the street and of people on benefits. They filmed quite a few families but chose to focus only on those claiming benefits. We were completely gullible and Channel 4 got us big time."
The 42-year-old said she had not financially benefited from being on the show and that, contrary to some reports, none of the characters had been moved into safe houses for their own protection.
And while speaking to Adrian Goldberg today on BBC Radio WM, she said she had never forgiven herself for her 2006 conviction for stealing £13,000 from her employer while working as an administration assistant at Birmingham City Council.
It comes after it emerged seven people have been charged with drug offences after a police raids at homes featured in the programme.
They include 32-year-old Samora Roberts, who is known as Black Dee and lives on James Turner Street. She was charged with conspiracy to supply a class B controlled drug, conspiracy to supply a class A controlled drug, possession of a Class A controlled drug, and possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.
The raids took place in June 2013.
