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Charles Dickens presents a topical chat show about child labour in Victorian times.

We meet three children working in difficult and dangerous trades, including a mudlark (scavenger), a watercress seller and a 'pure' (dogs' mess) finder. Many Victorian children lived in desperate poverty, and worked to avoid starvation and the threat of the workhouse.

We hear from a cotton mill owner about the benefits of employing young children in this dangerous work.

Charles Dickens then interviews Lord Shaftesbury, champion of children's rights in parliament. He talks about his Ten Hour Act, which aimed to restrict child working to ten hours a day, and was at first rejected by parliament.

We learn about the Ragged Schools movement, which gave many poor children education for the first time. Classes were held in homes and halls during the day and in the evening to fit in with the children's work. Charles Dickens speaks to Ragged School pupils who explain how difficult it is to go to school after a long day's work.

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