Kathy explores the idea of escaping poverty through hard work, and considers the unseen obstacles that make this kind of social change difficult. She visits one of the most deprived towns in Britain and meets a local man trying to build community spirit, and discovers a community in Somerset for people who have rejected capitalism.

In the first episode, she reunited with former comedy partners Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse to discuss creating characters defined by wealth and status, and meets a wealthy businessman who grew up in poverty as a Romany gypsy,