A door-to-door salesman who appeared on Benefits Street set up home in Glasgow after being attacked with a sledgehammer in his native Birmingham.
Stephen 'Smoggy' Smith says he became a target for violence and abuse after appearing on the Channel 4 show and moved north to start again.
The 46-year-old was known as the '50p man' on the programme that first aired in 2014, and his entrepreneurial spirit captured the hearts of the nation.
He attracted the attention of millionaire businessman Charlie Mullins, who offered him a £10,000 deal to open a 50p discount store to rival Poundland, Birmingham Live reports.
But after he turned down the offer, claiming the deal wasn't right for him, Smoggy says things started to go wrong.
He explained: "I had a lot of publicity from some people for my 50p business after the show aired but I also had lots of negativity.
"Shortly after a headline in a newspaper came out saying I was earning thousands of pounds after being offered an opportunity by an entrepreneur, my flat was broken into and I was attacked by three men with sledgehammers. They thought I had money but I didn't. That was the final straw.
"There were headlines saying I had been given a brilliant opportunity and I had turned my nose up at it but it wasn't the case."
The controversial reality show aired about residents on James Turner Street and ran for two series.
Smoggy went on: "Things weren't quite what they seemed. I was offered £10,000 to start up a shop, but I knew that it would cost so much more to open up a shop. Instead, I wanted a van so I could go round delivering my goods door-to-door. I would have been invested in a van. But in end, I decided to walk away.
"Due to the negativity, I decided to knock the 50p business on the head. I was then offered a job selling fish door-to-door at a company in Warwickshire, but it didn't work out.
"I think they thought my fame might come in handy because I was well known.
But I couldn't sell salmon to people in James Turner Street as they couldn't afford it and the people who could hadn't a clue who I was as they hadn't watched Benefits Street.
"I decided I needed to get out of Birmingham. So I moved from Northfield up to Scotland."
Smoggy got a freelance job painting and decorating an old people's home at first in Glasgow and then as a machine operator for a company. But he hurt his hand during an accident at work last year and was deemed unfit for work. He is currently on Universal Credit and receiving physio.
He said: "I am gutted to be out of work, but I have been deemed unfit for work at the moment. I have been to the physio and they say it could be another six weeks before my wrist is strong enough.
"I want to be back in work as soon as possible. I don't want to be on benefits.
"It was good to move away from Birmingham. But it is my home and I can't rule out coming back in the future."
Looking back on the show he said: "Benefits Street drastically changed my life and not for the better. I could have been killed in that attack and that definitely happened caused because of my newfound fame.
"I am out of work and am behind on my rent. Life is tough for me at the moment. I just need to be back in work as soon as possible."
The dad-of-two hit on the 50p products idea after he served four months in HMP Birmingham for a “petty” crime in 2011.
He previously told Birmingham Live said: “I worked as a cleaner when I was inside, People asked for things like soap that I would sell for a smoke.
“My time in prison was a reality check but it gave me time to reflect. I was locked up for something really petty which I regret.
“But they say things happen for a reason, If I had not gone to jail I would not have come up with the 50p idea.
“Everyone needs toilet roll, washing powder, tea, and coffee. The hardest thing was coming up with a price to charge.
“I want to do the 50p thing full-time. I want to turn it into a franchise across the UK. I want people working with me, not for me.
“I want to set up booths in every poor neighbourhood where people can pick up essential items for 50p.”
