I was Benefits Street’s most famous star – my kids were racially abused and it made me enemies
WHITE Dee still remembers the knock on the door that changed her life.
It was a member of the production team for Channel Four asking her if she’d be involved in a documentary they were filming on the street where she’d been living for the past 10 years.
Little did she know quite the impact the show would have.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, the mum of two, real name Deirdre Kelly, candidly admits, “I didn’t really give it much thought as none of us believed it would end up airing.
“I wouldn’t have been so cavalier if I’d known what it would become as I’m quite shy and private.
“Since then I get recognised all the time, just walking down the street.
“If someone had told me all those years ago that I’d have appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, have celebrity friends, spoken at the Conservative Party conference, and have young men sliding into my DMs, I’d have thought they were mad.
“It’s surreal how much has happened to me.
“I don’t regret doing the show. I miss the simplicity of the life that I had but I love the one I’ve got now.
“I haven’t been on benefits since the show – we’re far from rich but we get by one way or another.
“Instead I’ve come full circle and help other people on benefits running a food bank and community hub.”
Benefits Street was filmed over 18 months and White Dee, now 53, was one of the stand out characters – the ‘mother hen’ of the show, always ready with food and a warm hug when fellow residents came looking for help.
And while her life has been a roller coaster since it first aired in 2014, she has fared better than some of the others.
Samora Roberts – knows as Black Dee – was jailed for seven years in January 2016 for possessing live ammunition and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
And James ‘Fungi’ Clarke sadly died of a drug overdose aged just 50, in July 2019.
Dee went on to star in Celebrity Big Brother – coming in fifth and has made numerous TV appearances since.
She says, “I couldn’t believe it when I was invited on. I got a lot of stick with people saying ‘who does she think she is, she’s not a celebrity’.
“They’re right, I’m not and never have been, but the criticism brought out my stubborn side and I did it. It was one of the happiest times of my life.
“I made some enemies though.
“I’ve recently spoken out about Gary Busey’s behaviour… he was filthy.
“It’s ironic that at the time I was accused of bullying Gary, but it was his behaviour that crossed many boundaries.
“I mentioned it in the diary room but didn’t pursue it once I was out. I was in such a strange situation and unprepared for it and he was a Hollywood superstar.
“And I also made friends for life, I count Ricci Guarnaccio from Geordie Shore as my third child – we speak every week.
“And the last time we went out it was messy – I rarely drink but I did then and my best friend ended up sleeping on my bathroom floor!”
It was after CBB that Dee moved out of James Turner Street to nearby Handsworth, where she still lives with her partner of 13 years Mark, 55, a machine operator in a factory, and her two children, Caitlin, 26, and Gerrard, 17.
She says, “After Benefits Street aired people were constantly knocking on the door. We became a tourist attraction.
“There was a backlash from the show and we got trolled. I can put up with it when it’s aimed at me – I’ve even learnt to laugh.
“But I was furious when it came to my kids, as children of colour they were racially abused and we were sent death threats which was horrific.
“I can’t fault my childhood – I wanted for nothing. My dad went out to work and my mother stayed home to look after us. We’d play out in the street and went on holidays.
“That’s what I wanted for my children. So I was sad when we had to move as it was all they’d known.
“It felt like a bereavement and it was tough adapting to such a dramatic change.
“But they’re well-adjusted, Caitlin now works at a spa, which is her dream job, and Gerrard is studying sports coaching at college.”
BENEFITS STREET STAR NOW A MODEL
Benefits Street star Sherrell ‘SB’ Dillion, 35, has come a long way since the 2014 Channel 4 reality show.
Sherrell scraped together a modelling portfolio and her career eventually took off, with shoots in London, Paris and Milan.
She also appeared in music videos for rappers Big Narstie, Zimbo and D Double E.
One of Sherrell’s most memorable modelling jobs was being used as a body double for Beyonce’s waxwork at Madame Tussaud’s in London and Las Vegas.
She recalls: “I was told I ‘fit the criteria’ and I was like, ‘Me? I’ve got no boobs, no bum?’ I thought it was a joke. It was baffling to me.
“They told me it was Beyonce before she had children and claimed she didn’t have curves either and that it was all camera tricks.”
Sherrell has brushed shoulders with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Daniel Craig.
She claims he winked and smiled at her while she was working as an extra on the James Bond film No Time To Die in 2018.
But her most memorable encounters were with Tom Cruise while acting in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One last year.
Sherrell claims she built up a rapport with the actor and says he referred to her by her nickname on Benefits Street – ‘SB’.
However Dee has struggled with her mental health since the show and has admitted to trying to take her life on three occasions.
She says, “I have episodes of depression. It’s been tough and the reasons are complicated as it always is.
“On the surface the demands of the show and feeling like everyone owned me contributed, as did financial worries when work dried up and I worried I’d have to go back on benefits.
But at the heart of it I struggle with my self-worth. It’s as though I feel I don’t deserve to be here. But I’m stable now and haven’t had any suicidal thoughts for the last 12 months.”
Dee feels fulfilled doing work she loves. In 2019 she became involved with Birmingham Says No – an anti-knife campaign.
From there she’s worked with youth projects and now runs a food bank and community hub.
“I know what it’s like to be in need and I want to help others,” she says.
“No one chooses to be a drug addict or homeless – there’s a set of circumstances that sees people arrive there and it’s heartbreaking.
“They tell me stories about being ignored, kicked and spat on. I want to do everything I can. Often all people want is a hot drink, a chat and a hug – I gave someone a hug the other day and they said it was the first one they’d had in 10 years.
“And I think being ‘White Dee’ and having a profile means I can do more.”
We were told it would be a documentary about community spirit. It wasn’t.
White Dee
But Dee does feel the residents of Benefits Street were exploited.
She says, “We were told it would be a documentary about community spirit. It wasn’t.
“All the people that were working were cut out from the show. I remember so clearly us all being taken to the preview show and noticing there were security guards in the room.
“I didn’t understand why – until the opening credits when we saw the name of the show was ‘Benefits Street’.
“Of course, a subject like that was going to cause controversy. And we were all suddenly in the spotlight with no idea how to cope with it.
“But as I say I’ve got no regrets.
“It’s led me to where I am today – doing work that I love, still with Mark and with two happy kids – it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
