Stacey Dooley explores the struggles that lead people there in her interview with ABC Three’s Meet the Shoplifters tonight. The Mirror recalls her own mistakes and challenging upbringing in Luton.
Stacey Dooley’s authentic and humble nature has made her one of the most recognisable faces in UK television. Since she first captured the audiences’ attention on Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts, she has gone on to present a wide range of BBC shows, using her warmth and curiosity to tell powerful stories.
Prior to becoming a TV personality, Stacey worked in retail at Luton airport, which is where she was approached to take part in the BBC three documentary, which changed her life.
Stacey won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 with her dance partner Kevin Clifton. A year after the show, the two publicly announced their relationship and now they live happily together with their daughter, Minnie residing in Merseyside, close to Stacey’s mother.
READ MORE: Stacey Dooley shares candid Kevin Clifton update as she admits ‘it’s on last legs’
However, before her life in the spotlight, Stacey opened up about a darker past shaped by her rebellious teen years. Now she brings her personal journey to the forefront presenting BBC’s Meet the shoplifters.
The BBC documentary began on March 13 and delves into the shoplifting pandemic and the lives of people involved in it. The show will look into their reasons why and offer a glimpse into their personal stories and the struggles they face, which have led them to live a life of shoplifting.
It will also highlight the social and emotional factors that drive people to commit the crime, aiming to give a deeper understanding of a topic that is often seen with limited understanding.
Stacey took advantage of the opportunity to discuss her shoplifting experience while the BBC documentary was being shot.
She revealed in the documentary that when she was 13 or 14, she would steal makeup like mascara and eyeliner. She claims that not mention it would have been dishonest.
“There’s not a world where I could sit here and try and justify it, you know, there was no reason, there was no need for me to be out there behaving like that.”
She continued, “I wasn’t thinking about anyone else but myself, and wasn’t thinking about the girls on the shop floor.”
However, her past goes beyond shoplifting and Stacey previously opened up about her teen years being surrounded by drugs and had even lost a friend “to smack before his 18th birthday.”
“Drugs were always available when I was growing up in Luton. My pals did loads of gear. Everyone was taking pills and sniffing coke,” she revealed.
“Boys would take pills during lunchtime at school.” People have taken heroin, I’ve seen. I went out with a boy who had a significant coke dealing background. One day, when I entered his room, I noticed that he had scales in his room. I have witnessed it all. she continues.
However, Di’s concern for the area where she was raising her young girl grew bigger. Leah Betts, 18, made headlines in 1995 for taking an ecstasy pill at a party.
She passed away in intensive care for five days. Leah’s picture was permanently inscribed on Leah’s fridge as a clear consolation for Stacey to stay away from drugs. Remember what happened to her, Stacey said in a quote from her mother, “if you ever think about taking E, remember what happened to her.”
When Stacey was two, her mum Diane, also known as Di, relocated from Liverpool to Luton after separating from Stacey’s father – an alcoholic whom Stacey never had a chance to reconcile with after he died in her early twenties. Diane told the Mirror: “There was never a bond between Stacey and her dad. The circumstances prevented it.
It was too late for them to reconcile when he attempted to restore her life to her at the age of 13 in a more meaningful way. Stacey Dooley wrote, “My father had his demons, and our relationship was complicated and fractious,” in her book Stacey Dooley: On the Front Line. But I never ever consider myself to be “poor me,” because I’m just grateful I had my mother. She raised such wonderful children.
Dianne worked hard to put food on the table and worked extra shifts to make sure Stacey didn’t go without. She wrote: “She [Diane] used to work in pubs, clean houses, or do whatever she could. She even used to work on Christmas Day – and I’d go with her to the pub to help clean the ashtrays”.
She hasn’t let her past prevent her, turning into a beloved figure despite it.
After leaving school at 16, she made a mark at just 20, when she starred in BBC Three’s Blood, Sweat and T-shirt, which exposed harsh realities in the fast fashion industry. This led to her own series, Stacey Dooley Investigates, where she continued to highlight important issues, including child labour.
In Luton’s My Hometown Fanatics, she also confronted extremism. Stacey has frequently attributed her mother to being her biggest influence, particularly in terms of her strong work ethic. She previously said, “If I ever have the chance to have children, I want them to think that Mum goes to work, standard.” “
Tonight at 9 p.m., BBC One’s Stacey Dooley – Meet the Shoplifters airs.
READ MORE: ‘I tried Treatwell and booking a beauty treatment has never been easier’
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply