Could you survive as a Victorian pauper? Yes, that is Ann Widdecombe, in a new reality show that sends six celebrities back in time to endure the poverty of yesteryear

By Christopher Stevens for Daily Mail

Published: 17:31 EST, 24 April 2015 | Updated: 03:18 EST, 25 April 2015

From the copper mines and jails of Poldark to the servants’ quarters at Downton Abbey, history comes alive in our favourite costume dramas. But it’s one thing to watch it – could we really survive the conditions and workloads that our forebears endured every day?

To find out, historian Ruth Goodman sent six celebrities back in time to the early Victorian era to live and work as the poorest people did in a new BBC1 series called 24 Hours In The Past. 

They first spent a day and a night as ‘dust collectors’, rooting through mountains of rubbish on dumps for scraps to recycle. Next, it was the gruelling lot of servants at a coaching inn, a sort of 19th-century motorway service station with guests to be fed and horses groomed around the clock. 

Scroll down for video 

A new show sees celebrities trying to live in past conditions, here Anne Widdecombe works at the coaching inn

A new show sees celebrities trying to live in past conditions, here Anne Widdecombe works at the coaching inn

On the third day they were in a pottery, doing back-breaking work at the wheels and kilns, before being sent to the workhouse where those unable to support themselves ended up in those days.

Part-documentary, part-reality TV show, the series was filmed at heritage sites and National Trust properties and proved to be one of the toughest challenges any of the celebs had faced. 

Former Tory politician and Strictly Come Dancing favourite Ann Widdecombe was joined by actor Tyger Drew-Honey, the eldest Brockman son in Outnumbered, and impressionist Alistair McGowan, as well as ex-athlete Colin Jackson, TV and radio host Miquita Oliver and Hollyoaks actress Zoe Lucker.

All six were left shattered and shocked by the intensity of life 175 years ago – the filth, the smells, the terrible food and the sheer hard labour. And all of them felt the experience changed their lives, giving them new perspectives on modern life. 

‘It felt real,’ says Ruth, whose previous history shows have seen her living on a Tudor farm and building a medieval castle in France. ‘No one is allowed to slip back into 21st century comfort even for a minute, there’s no break – the TV jargon for it is “living in the bubble”.’ 

Alistair McGowen says he found the whole experience 'liberating' 

Alistair McGowen says he found the whole experience 'liberating' 

Ruth’s inspiration was to reveal how life was for ordinary people. It’s a relatively new perspective, very different from the traditional focus on monarchy, power and major events. ‘What about the rest of us?’ she demands. ‘We have a past too.’

It was crucial to find the right people to join the experiment, celebrities with a keen interest in history and a readiness to roll up their sleeves. Ruth wasn’t interested in needy show-offs having breakdowns on camera – she needed strong personalities who could throw themselves into the work day after day, no matter how gruelling it got. 

The result is an entertaining but serious-minded show that strives to depict the past, not a voyeuristic gameshow. ‘If we’d done it half-heartedly, instead of working our blinking socks off, it wouldn’t have been real,’ Ruth says. ‘A bunch of airheads just wouldn’t have survived.’

To complete the experience, actors in costume gave the orders – as factory bosses, workhouse masters or a couple of corrupt publicans fleecing their customers. 

At the inn, the six worked till they dropped preparing food, cleaning horses, washing clothes, serving beer and 1,001 other chores. Hackles rose when they were ordered to help cheat the travellers: food was held back until the coaches were almost ready to depart, so customers had to leave their meals. The uneaten food then went back into the stewpots to be sold again.

To one of the participants, that dishonesty was too much. Ann Widdecombe spoke out, and was dismissed on the spot. ‘I’ve always said that if I’d lived in Victorian times I’d probably have been a Labour politician,’ she laughs. ‘Sure enough, I was leading a workers’ riot by the end!’

The historians on the team predicted Ann wouldn’t have survived for long. She disagrees, of course, and insists she could have lived by her wits, finding things to make or sell. ‘There’s always room for a bit of enterprise,’ she declares. 

What she found hardest was to live without showers or facilities for washing, never even being able to clean her teeth. The only concession to health and safety was to have a battery lantern instead of candles, to guard against the risk of setting long clothes alight.

These, however, were not the worst living conditions Ann has ever seen. ‘I do a lot of work overseas with the Leprosy Mission, and Victorian England was luxury compared to the squalor some people have to endure today. In modern Britain everyone moans about what they haven’t got. I hope this programme will make them stop and think about what they have got instead.’

Tyger Drew-Honey says he would have a serious think before tackling something like this again

Tyger Drew-Honey says he would have a serious think before tackling something like this again

At the coach house, while Ann was getting sacked, Tyger’s task was to refill the tankards in the bar. He almost found himself in trouble with the law after miscounting the change and then naively offering to make up the difference himself. One of the customers accused him of stealing, and for a while it looked as if Tyger’s trip back in time might end in transportation to Australia as a criminal. 

‘It was scary,’ he admits. ‘With all those people shouting at me, it felt very real indeed. We were immersed in the era and it felt completely authentic, including the sleeping arrangements – we were lucky to get a wooden board on the floor with a stuffed mattress, and we slept in our day clothes. There were rats, and a terrible stench created by the production team to make it smell real.’

After two days, Tyger was so exhausted that the only way to keep going was to let his mind go blank and tell himself that the ordeal would be over soon. He was shocked to realise that in the 1830s, just over two long lifetimes ago, some people lived their whole lives this way.

Even when the celebrities were travelling between locations they had to stay in costume, living the Victorian life. They were not allowed mobiles, which Tyger found deeply isolating – for six days he couldn’t talk to loved ones, and had no news from the outside world. 

By the end of the second day I was feeling low. I was almost in tears - Tyger Drew-Honey

‘Because of my upbringing, and the fact that I’ve worked as an actor since I was young while still keeping up with my school studies, I think I’ve got a deeply ingrained work ethic,’ he says. 

‘But more and more young people in the 21st century don’t feel they have to work – they can scrounge off their parents, or live on benefits. Some of them couldn’t have stuck it out for the full series, I’m sure. By the end of the second day I was feeling low. I was almost in tears. I’d have to think very carefully before tackling something like this again.’

Alistair McGowan, on the other hand, loved the experience. ‘It was liberating,’ he says. ‘It was great not to have my phone. I didn’t miss it one bit. We spend far too long on our devices, and you can get so obsessed with that little screen. I’m going to remember that lesson for modern life.’

A lifelong fan of Thomas Hardy’s novels, Alistair was hoping they would live like rural labourers, working in the fields. He was also looking forward to working on a canal barge and riding a penny farthing. Sadly, they didn’t do any of those things. ‘The bit I enjoyed most was cleaning the horses at the inn. I was kicked by a horse when I was young, so I was wary of them, but they were such intelligent, warm animals. It was profoundly moving.’

The work was hard, but less hectic than his showbiz life, he says. ‘The pace was different back then, and much more efficient.’ What impressed him most was the lack of commuting, a nightmare he believes the Victorians would have regarded as insanity. Instead of travelling for 90 minutes to get to work, Alistair could walk the 200 yards from cottage to inn in less than a minute. 

‘I’ve always resisted reality shows, but this was different and I’ve learned so much from it,’ he says. ‘Recycling, for instance – Victorian paupers knew the importance of using every scrap, and throwing nothing away. We never seem to learn from the past. I hope this programme will help us do that.’

For Ruth, the four-part series proved a resounding success, and one she’s eager to repeat. If the ratings are good, she hopes to voyage even further back, to the 1760s and the start of the Industrial Revolution. ‘Most people haven’t a clue what was happening in Britain at that time,’ she says, bubbling with enthusiasm. ‘Everyone thinks it’s just pretty dresses and elegant coats, but the world was changing for all the ordinary folk – it’s the start of the modern era.’

A warning to any celebrity thinking of signing up: don’t imagine you’ll be dressing up like Jane Austen characters. Those pretty dresses and elegant coats aren’t for the likes of you! n 

24 Hours In The Past starts on Tuesday at 9pm on BBC1.

 

Comments (44)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now