BBC Three’s Meet The Shoplifters airs tonight with Stacey Dooley delving into the struggles which lead people there. The Mirror takes a look back at her own past mistakes and tough 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.
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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.
In the documentary, she revealed that she would steal makeup items such as eyeliner and mascara when she was 13 or 14. “It would have been disingenuous not to mention it,” she says.
«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 added she wasn’t thinking about the girls on the shop floor and “wasn’t thinking about anybody else other than myself.”
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 at school in their lunch break. I’ve witnessed people taking heroin. A boy I went out with was heavily involved with dealing coke. I remember going into his room one day and there were scales out and he was bagging it up. I’ve seen it all.» she adds.
But as she became older, Di became increasingly concerned about the area where she was raising her little girl. In 1995, an 18-year-old girl, Leah Betts, made headlines for being hospitalised after taking an ecstasy pill at a party.
She died after five days in intensive care. Di stuck Leah’s picture on their fridge as a stark warning to Stacey to never get involved with drugs. «If you ever think about taking E, remember what happened to her,» Stacey said her mum used to say.
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.
«When he tried to come back in her life in a more meaningful way when she was aged 13 it was too late for them to reconcile.» In her book, Stacey Dooley: On the Front Line, Stacey wrote: «My father had his demons; our relationship was difficult and fractured. But I don’t ever think: ‘Poor me’, I just feel blessed that I had my mother. She was such a great mum.»
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».
Despite her past, she hasn’t allowed it to hold her back, instead becoming a beloved figure.
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.
She also confronted extremism in My Hometown Fanatics in Luton. Throughout it all, Stacey has often credited her mother as her biggest influence, particularly when it comes to her strong work ethic. As she previously shared, «If I’m ever lucky enough to have children, I want them to look at me and think ‘Mum goes to work, standard.'»
BBC’s Stacey Dooley – Meet The Shoplifters airs tonight on BBC Three at 9pm.
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