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Country Strife (10.40pm BBC3)

Townies often see the countryside as a stress-free bucolic idyll. The reality, of course, is very far removed from that rose-tinted view. This new two-part documentary focuses on the bleak side of living in the country. Tonight's opening episode centres on a pair who are certainly finding the rural life far from idyllic. They live in Leadgate, County Durham, a village that ranks as one of the most deprived in the UK. Andrew Daley (above) - known as "Arthur" - has been stealing for a living since the age of 13, and has gained a reputation for being able to lay his hands on anything from cars to generators. He has now reached his 20s and wants to go straight, but is finding it hard to break out of his life of crime. Anita Towler, a former shop-lifter, is also struggling with life in Leadgate. A young, unemployed mother, she is having difficulties escaping from her criminal past. Whenever she goes to a nearby town centre, CCTV cameras track her every step of the way.