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Returning: Filthy, Rich & Homeless

Andrew Rochford, Arron Wood, Pauline Nguyen, Ciaran Lyons & Ellie Gonsalves in third season of SBS doco.

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L to R: Ciaran Lyons, Dr. Andrew Rochford, Ellie Gonsalves, Arron Wood, Pauline Nguyen.

SBS docu-reality series Filthy, Rich & Homeless will return in June to screen over three consecutive nights.

Season Three will feature Dr. Andrew Rochford, Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne Arron Wood, Restauranteur Pauline Nguyen, Comedian Ciaran Lyons, and Model Ellie Gonsalves.

All will swap their privileged lifestyles for experiencing 10 days of being homeless in NSW -filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

Returning to host is journalist Indira Naidoo, joined by homelessness expert Dr Catherine Robinson.

SBS Director of TV and Online Content, Marshall Heald said: “Filthy Rich & Homeless goes to the core of SBS’s role in exploring complex issues, confronting tough questions about society and exploring issues central to our Charter. The first two seasons of Filthy Rich & Homeless sparked a national conversation about one of the most important social issues we face as a nation, provoking debate and discussion and inspiring attitudinal and real change amongst the Australian public. The third season of Filthy Rich and Homeless will further explore the people and communities who are experiencing homelessness in central and regional NSW, and contribute to a better understanding of the many issues they face.”

Blackfella Films Producer, Darren Dale, and Series Producer and Writer, Jacob Hickey, said: “Our aim with this third season is to raise the bar even higher in terms of the public’s awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding homelessness. This crisis is getting worse, not just in the cities but regional Australia too. And so we hope this series will have a genuine impact, inspiring and influencing those with the power to bring about the long lasting change that is so desperately needed.”

 

There’s a homelessness crisis in Australia and it’s getting worse. The last Census showed 116,000 people in Australia have no place to call home.

Since it first premiered in 2017, Filthy Rich & Homeless has sparked a national discussion on homelessness and the issue has never been more pertinent than now.

In season three of the critically acclaimed series, the five participants are separated to experience different forms of homelessness – from sleeping rough on the streets to living in crisis accommodation and marginal housing, including boarding houses and caravan parks. With their phones, ID and money taken from them, the five participants are given second hand clothing, a sleeping bag and nothing else.

New South Wales is at the epicentre of this crisis. The number of rough sleepers in NSW is higher than any other state in Australia, with a 35 per cent increase in the latest census.[ii] In regional NSW, there is a chronic lack of public housing and severe rental stress.[iii]

Filming took place before the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple locations across the state, including central Sydney, Western Sydney, and regional cities and towns including Newcastle, Wollongong, Dapto and Nowra.

The five participants meet those who live without a home every day, hear their heartbreaking stories of survival and gain a unique insight and understanding of the varied and complex reasons for how and why homelessness exists. They meet professionals at specialist services who are trying to end homelessness with innovative and successful initiatives. Crucially, they see first-hand the acute need for affordable housing, services and wrap around support, beyond basic shelter.

The five are forced to deal head on with homelessness. By journey’s end, perceptions have been challenged, views changed, and compassion and understanding deepened.

Filthy Rich & Homeless Season 3 will be subtitled in Simplified Chinese and Arabic and will be added to the subtitled collection on SBS On Demand, available immediately after its premiere.

Filthy Rich & Homeless is produced by Blackfella Films for SBS with the assistance of Screen NSW. It is based on a format created by Love Productions, broadcast by the BBC in the UK and distributed by BBC Worldwide.

8:30pm Tues – Thurs June 9, 10 and 11 on SBS.

4 Responses

  1. 116,00 includes people staying with friends, couch surfing, in shelters and refuges, boarding houses and caravan parks who don’t have any tenancy protection. It used to be 300,000 but the ABS methodology was found to be biased and fixed. Only 25% are actually on the streets as SBS pretends.

    Celebrities don’t have prison records, they haven’t been abused and don’t have physical and mental health problems and in S2 when the celebrities were smart enough to find a phone book and contact homeless services, they were banned from doing so because it went against SBS’s constructed narrative.

    Yes they have an Insight style discussion afterwards, which covers the same stuff and changes nothing. Most of the services have a target of putting people on the dole and into expensive, run down boarding houses full of people with problems and no support, which chews up nearly all of the…

  2. I love this show & I’m so glad it’s back!

    However, I don’t know any of these people, expect for Dr Andrew Rochford of course! However, looking forward to the series!

    1. I agree, besides the good doctor I don’t know any of the others, but that is probably a good thing. I’m not sure which series it was, but I’m pretty sure there was a Daddo on one of them and I think he said he felt he was recognized by some members of the general public, who then helped him out. My point being that if the general public don’t recognize any of them, that’s a good thing as the outcome should be more real.

      I really enjoy this show too, it’s very informative.

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