Secret Millionaire made New Addington 'look like scumland'

“Im sorry but i think the problem was that the show was based in Fieldway yet from an outsiders perspective they made it look like that was all of New Addignton!
Im sure some of you will agree Fieldway is the lower more shady half of New Addington... The youth of today even class Fieldway as "Lower Addington"

Alex or "Frank" as he called himself gave the youth a really bad imagine, but truth is the majority of the youth out at that time are to a slightly lesser extent just like that!
i know Alex personally along with many of the other "Addo yobs".. there just mis-directed thats all, low cash flow at home, shoddy education from the local schools & nothing to do - this..
Alex is now serving time in prison AGAIN currently on remand..

Cabs is good, TimeBridge youth club too, but there not 'cool' to do, the youth want to have an area they can be free.. there's serveral options just no one listens!!”

“This programme portrayed New Addington youth unfairly. This programme reinforced the stereotypes and prejudices that the residents of New Addington have had to suffer for years.

Most people in New Addington are hard working and decent. This programme was supposed to be about finding worthwhile causes to donate money to. Instead it reinforced all the prejudice that New Addington has had to deal with for years, by focusing on the anti-social behaviour of a group of youths in the street. Why weren't the young people who used the Boxing Club, or Timebridge Centre given as much focus in the programme as the young man who was making threats in the street ? Because it wouldn't be as interesting for the TV audience !

It is time for New Addington to be properly supported by Croydon Council, and thus it should be a priority for regeneration programmes in LBC. It is time for both the council and the population of Croydon, to give New Addington a break !!!!”

“There were some fantastic messages in the program, "do they deserve a second chance?"
"I made mistakes when I was young, and I was given a second chance"
The boxing coach became the role model for some (called to act as an appropriate adult) these are the type of influences we want put on our youth, these type of people can break the destructive cycle. Even the worst youth of the bunch was given hope and the promise of a job by the very person he abused, but he was told he would have to earn it if he was to keep that job. This type of action is wisdom personified and unlike any current government rhetoric .Show them the way to a better life by proactive methods within the community. Locking them up and throwing away the key doesn't work. Another great message was that only the rich get second chances? David Cameron took drugs, now he is prime minister; he said "we all do silly things when we are young?"No doubt character building for David, but an excuse and not a justification for the so called underclass.
Should we right off so many of our young, without giving it a damn good try to turn them around?
Does it take a community to raise a child?”

“I thought the program was brilliant, the best episode yet. It portrayed a helpful and caring community. The government has ignored the real benefits to communities by slashing funding to youth schemes. The only embarrassment I see is that of the government. When individuals form New Addington come together to make a real difference by their voluntary work, then, "au contraire" this shows the sort of people within your community, and they are great ambassadors that you should rightly be proud of. Yes you have some problems, better to admit those problems rather than "pretend "that your community has no such issues. Any community with the youth demographics of yours will inevitably have some issues in that regard, the point is your community is dealing with that issue, and that is to be commended. Great Program. Well Done Channel 4”

“I watched the programme and thought that for a millionaire and Bobbi Dudani's dress sense was rather shabby, thus setting a tone in itself. To disguise yourself from your own wealth doesn't mean you have to dress almost vagrant like. I left the estate many many years ago and my parents were some of the original leaders with the Timebridge Centre back in the late 80's early 90's. They also ran a football club that boasted at one point teams from under 11 through under 18 age groups. There was the Goldcrest Youth Centre on the old estate and many other local football and sports clubs. I was back there around a year ago and it has changed, a bit shabbier in my opinion. It seems to me though that the kids, not just there but on most estates have very little if anything that will keep them occupied or out of trouble, the football pitches have been removed, the clubs slowly dying a death means the streets have become their meeting place. With no constructive things to do the boredom soon, in some cases becomes destructive and the kids get angry with what they perceive as lack of help which is why places like Godcrest an Timebridge were set up in the first place. New Addington needs help, people outside do look down their noses at the place, the middle classes are what they are and as such have the choice of settling down in the suburbs or the country. Until they've lived it they have no idea what it's like, so grubby programmes like Secret Millionaire have their agenda set out to make Addington look like a war zone and the middle classses will continue to look down their noses, good luck to them. Whilst New Addington will never be Utopia, it will be what it has been since it was built in the late 60's. a home for working class people who want to get on with their lives. The so called underclass that someone mentioned is everywhere in society and one person like Frank or whatever his name was is a small percentage of a rather larger community. Estates in Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and all over the country have similar issues to that of New Addington. How the local councils and governments go about solving the issue is another debate. Perhaps in a roundabout way Bobby Dudanis downer on the estate can be it's way of trying to secure a brighter future for itself by it's hilighting of the problems.”

“PeterNT - I'm not asking for him to be gassed and killed. I'm just looking at solutions to the underclass. Say you move to north Surrey or into Sussex, what's to stop the underclass from spreading to these areas? Will you keep moving south until you live in the sea?

Stopping this young man from breeding will stop him from bringing other failures into the world. And it will save us a lot of money in the long run. Think taxes, housing credits, prison, benefits. Surely this must be a good thing to stop him from breeding any terrors? Once (if) he can prove that he support himself and a family then the procedure can be reversed.

I said to move him into issolation because this type of person has a very bad effect on others dragging them down.”

“The3rd, whilst I quite like your idea, I fear you are bordering on the realms of ethnic cleansing. Almost Hitler-esque in what you are saying which is worrying. I think it's way past the time where we must accept the feral underclass which have bred and multiplied and now are rife in Croydon and New Addington. The only option is to get out and as far away from the pests as possible.”

“Tbabygib - sorry but I don't think we should send him to the army. Why should the army be sent all the failures in life? At worst when his time is up in the army he will return to Croydon as a potential killer. No thanks.

Sterilize him so he can't have children and then ship him off to a Scottish island. He can live out the rest of his life there. He should not be allowed to mix with other kids where he will infect them with his anti social ways.”

“2000, The Army would not want him, But he needs something like it, I don't think he is as hard as he thinks he is. Could be a front for the Camera's.?
I Think, Break the wall and you will find a frightened Little Boy, That could turn out a Good Person.”

“Sounds like the best thing that could happen to that Alex lad now is to put him in the army.”