The 1900s

S1 E5: In the final episode of the series, the slum dwellers move into the 20th century and social change is in the air. Community spirit is embodied by the arrival of the Co-operative Movement, and shopkeepers the Birds have members to look after, rather than customers to profit from. While some continue to prosper, others come face-to-face with the poverty endemic in British cities during the era. The effects of this on children hits home when the slum’s kids see photographs of their Edwardian counterparts. The wealth division in Edwardian Britain has a bittersweet resonance when the residents get a taste of Edward VII’s cancelled Coronation banquet, which was packed up and sent to the poor of Whitechapel in 1902. The wider world continues to impact on life in the Slum, and some enjoy a day trip out to the countryside. The men exercise their right to vote and the women of the Slum learn what East End women did in the quest for suffrage. At long last there are state wide measures designed to alleviate the plight of the poor, and it’s time for the slum dwellers to return to life in the 21st century. As they prepare to leave, thoughts turn to the effects of slum clearance on British communities and to lessons that can be learned for the future.