A new eye-opening ITV documentary delved into the lives of a handful of Britain’s two million single parents, to investigate whether there was any truth behind the stigma of being a single parent on benefits.

Myleene Klass: Single Mums On Benefits saw the star travel across the country to meet different families who, for one reason or another, were left to raise their children alone on benefits.

Myleene Klass: Single Mums on Benefits
(ITV/Screenshot)

Myleene’s first stop was Birmingham where she met self-proclaimed “Welfare Queen” Marie Buchan, an unemployed single mother of eight who made headlines when she said her £26,000 benefits weren’t enough to raise her family.

Despite previously claiming she has no desire to work, Marie admitted she now wanted to find a job. Yet juggling her children’s daily routine with the inflexible working hours on offer, as well as the cost of childcare, it was easier said than done.

Next Myleene travelled to see 43-year-old single mother Rhiannon, who was forced to turn to benefits after her marriage broke down and she was made redundant. She then became a full-time carer to her sick grandmother, as well as looking after her three children in a rented home in North Wales.

“Benefits are bridge for now. You almost feel like it’s a failure. The children are growing up – I don’t own my home any more and I’m not working any more and to a degree you get a little bit embarrassed about it,” Rhiannon admitted.

And it’s not just women who are raising a child as a single parent – there are 200,000 single dads in Britain, many of whom rely on benefits.

Myleene was invited to the home of 36-year-old single dad Ben from London, who has brought up his son Jackson alone after his wife was killed after being hit by a car on a family day out.

After the accident, Ben admitted he was at a loss on how to cope and so turned to the internet for guidance, only to find limited support for men. It was then he decided to start his own blog for widowers like himself.

“There’s loads of resources for mums if you look at Mumsnet and all of these different things, there seems to be a lot of that. It’s very different really being a guy, because sometimes you just want really practical advice and sometimes you just wanna get stuff off your chest and sometimes you might just want a laugh,” he said.