Jamie Laing and Cheryl Fergison are set to appear on a new ‘Benefits Street’-style reality show.
Famous faces including the ‘Made In Chelsea’ star and former ‘EastEnders’ actress have signed up for ‘Famous, Rich and Hungry’, which will see them living with families struggling to survive on benefits.
The BBC One show will also feature Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s sister, Rachel Johnson, and former ‘Dragons’ Den’ star Theo Paphitis.
A source said: "The emphasis is on how difficult it is to feed a family on very little money. The celebs are used to fancy restaurants and always having a decent meal when they want one.
"The show will look at how they react when faced with the prospect of going hungry or eating a tiny meal — a situation affecting many people in Britain."
The programme is made by ‘Benefits Street’ producers Love Productions and will appear on BBC One as a two-part series during their Sport Relief charity programming next month.
Rachel, 48, spent a week living with a widowed mother-of-four while filming the show and admits that her preconceptions about people who live on benefits were completely shattered.
She told The Sun newspaper: "Within two hours of being with Dee I’d established she was feeding three people on less than I spend on a cup of coffee a day. I couldn’t stop my tears."
Programme executives are said to be nervous about what the reaction will be to ‘Famous, Rich and Hungry’ after the criticism ‘Benefits Street’ received.
The Channel 4 show was originally offered to the BBC but they turned it down.
Jamie Laing for celebrity Benefits Street
